


Two Keys to the Kingdom of my Heart.

by Rosemar (Rosemar_Darkling)



Series: Kingdom Hearts ABOverse (Rosemar's) [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Attempted Seduction, Awkward Boners, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Girl Penis, Kissing, Locker Room, M/M, Masturbation, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Seduction to the Dark Side, Sex Education, Sex Toys, Swords & Sorcery, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2020-12-22 20:27:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21082589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosemar_Darkling/pseuds/Rosemar
Summary: A retelling of the Kingdom Hearts story in universe with Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics. Sexual situations and relationships discussed in graphic detail. Heat cycles, teenage lusts, feeling different; growing up is hard enough without actual monsters. Tags will be added as they are introduced in the story, I don't want to spoil any surprises early~





	1. Life Lessons.

Two Keys to the Kingdom of my Heart.

Chapter 1: Life Lessons.  
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Author Notes: This first chapter is meant to establish the rules of this A/B/O universe and while it is not meant to be all-inclusive it creates a framework on which the rest of the story will build on. It also establishes and foreshadows some of the difficulties the main characters will face in coming chapters. Gulldago was the name of a tutorial NPC in FFXI btw. 

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The beautiful sun shone down through the window into the classroom. It was another perfect day on the Islands, much too perfect to spend in a stuffy classroom Sora thought. At least today's lesson was one of more interest than sums or history as the balding teacher gave a lesson on basic sex end to his class of preteens. Mandatory for all ten-year old's before they presented in the next few years, it was an experience looked upon with equal measures of trepidation and excitement.

“As you can see here.” The teacher intoned dryly, jabbing at a faded color diagram posted on the chalkboard with his yardstick. “During arousal the Alpha will experience a stiffing of the erectile tissue but the swelling of the base expanse, the “knot” will reach full size shortly before ejaculation.” He continued, making air quotes with his fingers when used the common term of Alpha anatomy. “This serves to lock the partners together and prevent loss of semen, greatly increasing the chance fertilization and pregnancy will occur.”

Sora swept his gaze around the classroom at the gamut of emotions on display. Many flushed red and stared down at their notebooks, only looking up fearfully to not miss some nascent point that would be on the test later. Most looked bored, his best friend Riku being one of them. It wasn't their fault, Mr. Gulldago was a boring teacher by nature, with a pedagogical leaning toward recitation of fact without passion. And yet nodding off was unheard-of, as he was prone to using that stick of his to smack the backs of chairs with surprisingly loud 'thwack' guaranteed to make the sleeper wake though their heart might not beat for a few moments.

Aside from those bored and those bashful, Sora occupied a small percentage sitting forward in their seats with rapt attention. Sora lost his father when he was very small and hadn't had a chance to learn such things from him. His mother; a rare Beta, did her best to raise him. But she had always shied away from his juvenile curiosity concerning sex. For one because he was a boy while she a girl, and for two because Betas were an odd outlier in the normal Alpha-Omega bonding with much of the nuance lost to them. She had calmly brushed questions about the subject to the side, promising he'd learn all he needed when he was older.

Sora looked on with a feeling of emotional hunger at the diagram on the board displaying a rendering of both and erect and swollen Alpha male penis and an Alpha female clitoris in similar state. That second one piqued his interest even more than the first, just in how alien it looked. Just as long and thick as the male version, but jutting out from the vulva with no balls underneath. Sora stirred in his seat, a curious tingle in his lower belly. He wouldn't present for a few more years, but he was well aware of what was between his own legs. He suspected he was an Alpha rather than a Beta, but there was no way to know until his little spike grew a bit and pulled his knot out from inside his pelvis.

“Now, we turn to the Omega side of things.” The teacher continued, Sora having spaced out during the last parts of the Alpha explanation. The diagram was replaced with another, equally faded in color, diagram. This one showed and underside view of two figures, an Omega female on the left and an Omega male on the right. The droning teacher jabbed at the diagram and continued his lesson.

Sora gasped almost audibly at the picture. The Omega male had balls and a penis too!? He'd never considered that, he'd assumed they had a birthing hole like the Omega girls did. He shook himself, realizing how dumb he was. Alpha females had a fake birth hole, so why wouldn't Omega males have fake wieners?

“During heat the birthing hole, located on the female here...” he said jabbing at the rounded lump labeled as a vulva on the diagram “...and inside the anus on the male; lubricates and opens to allow Alpha entrance. During other times penetration by an Alpha is possible but difficult, a testament to our evolution as Omega's cannot become pregnant when not in heat. This is especially noticeable in male Omegas as the chamber leading to the womb is covered by a flap of muscle, meaning any penetrative act deposits semen in the colon instead.”

Sora timidly raised his hand. “Um, I have a question?” 

The teacher glared at him over his thick glasses. “Quickly, and don't ask me to repeat something I've said, you should have been paying attention Sora.”

The boy shook his head. “No, nothing like that. I was wondering...on the Omega male, is that a penis too or does it just look like one?”

A few stifled chuckles came from the room before the teacher silenced them with a hard thwack of his ruler on his desk. “Students! I warned you at the start of this lesson that this material was serious and I would tolerate no tomfoolery. That's a good question Sora, and one your classmates would be wise to write down the answer to.” He wiggled his left eyebrow in the way he always did when he was hinting at something. Instantly the room became deathly quiet as every child pressed pencils to paper, if Mr. Gulldago hinted that strongly about it being important, chances were it was going to be worth a bunch of points on the test. With the room under control to his satisfaction, the man pointed to the diagram again. “Actually it's what's known as a pseudo-penis. The urethra runs through it and it can even experience erections during sex like an Alpha can; but an Omega produces no true semen, has no knot, and cannot experience sexual climax from it; instead requiring direct stimulation of the prostate gland.” He shifted his stick an inch to point at the walnut shaped gland located between the anus and the Omega false-phallus, right at the entrance to the womb. “Which at climax releases ovarian fluid into the womb. This causes the Alpha's semen to clump together and form a zygote withing the lipid membrane it creates. For reasons not comply understood by science at present, male ovarian cells more readily bonds with female semen and vise-versa. I hope that answers your question Sora.”

“Yes sir, thank you.” Sora looked down between his legs, now no longer sure as he had been. He sighed and put on a smile. So what if he ended up being an Omega, a Beta, or whatever, he'd still be him and that would be enough. He cut a look over at Riku, as long as he had his friend he'd be happy no matter what they ended up being.

The lesson continued with a discussion on pheromones, how Alphas made a scent that warned other Alphas away and made Omegas feel safe, how Omegas in heat made ones that drove Alphas wild, and how most of the time Omegas had a slight scent that helped them feel comfortable around each other. With the lesson wrapping up, and freedom almost in reach, a surprising hand shot up. Riku hadn't said anything all class, not even responding with juvenile chuckles when others had, he was cool and mature that way. “What about Betas?”

“Oh, the lesson doesn't really cover them...which is a shame.” The teacher responded, showing some interest for the first time all day. “Well, they make up less than two percent of the population; and don't react to the pheromones of either Alphas or Omegas. Sexually wise Beta males can get Omegas pregnant and Beta females can get pregnant from either Alphas or Beta males. It's all rather interesting how they deviate from the norm that way. The lack of knots on males and heat cycles in females has led some scientists to theorize they evolved from a different population, or even an entirely different species from the normal human race.” The balding man said, jabbing his stick into the air as he spoke, clearly mourning not having a diagram to poke at for this part of the lecture. “In fact I did my thesis in college about that very s-” Suddenly the bell rang, cutting him off from continuing down what was no doubt going to be a self-aggrandizing tangent.

“Oh, well there's the bell. Have a good afternoon students. We'll continue tomorrow with a pregnancy and how it relates to male and female omegas differently, I may even try to find some material on Beta pregnancy.” Of course, by then class was already grabbing their bags and stuffing them full of their notes and pencils. The fastest boys and girls already halfway out the door. As the left Riku mouthed a “Thank you” to the teacher for answering his question.

Sora hurried to catch up to Riku in the hallway, the two always spent time together after school. Slowing down he put his arms behind his head when he caught up, his bag hanging limply around his waist. “What did you think of the lesson?”

Riku shrugged and blew out air. “Boring mostly. I knew most of that stuff already, except the Beta stuff at the end.”

Sora looked at the silver haired boy with joyful envy. “You're lucky Riku, no one's told me any of that stuff before.” Riku made another noncommittal noise, his typical response to anything Sora found exciting was to act above it all. This aloofness made him popular with adults but less so with kids, which is why the brunette next to him was his only real friend. “Let's hurry up and get out of here Sora, we can do our homework at my place.” Sora gave a nod and opened his mouth to respond, but before he could the other boy broke into a run shouting “Race you!”

“Hey! No fair!” Sora called after him and broke into a run as well. The pair raced down the hallway and out into the sunlit spring day, the breeze billowing the palm leaves and bringing the salty scent of the sea on the air. They blew passed Wakka and Tidus who were already gathering some kids for a ballgame, not even slowing when Wakka called out to them asking them to join. Sora wouldn't have minded playing with them, but when Riku lead he felt compelled to follow. He was only half a step behind now, but he couldn't seem to close the distance.

When they reached his house Riku slapped his hand against the wall and slouched, his chest pulsing with effort to catch his breath. Sora was right on his heels and doubled over, huffing and puffing as well. “I....*huff* win.”

“You....*hoo* che-ated!”

“You're just *ha-hu* to slow *huh* to start.”

Sora looked up at his friend with a pout, that bottom lip out pout he had perfected over the years. It never failed to get Riku to realize he was being jerkish.

“Okay, fine. Let's just get inside.” The slightly older boy said, having caught his breath now. He unlocked the door with the key on the lanyard around his neck before tucking it back into his shirt. “Remember to take off your shoes.”

Sora knew, he spent almost as much time there as he did at his own house. His shoes joined Riku's alongside the spare pairs of Riku's parents, looking like doll shoes alongside the huge boots his father wore when doing work around the house and yards. His mother was at work and would be for an hour or so more, much like Riku's parents. That was no issue, as Riku's parents trusted him to behave himself and be all right on his own for a time, his maturity already evident and well tested at age ten. Sora, still nine for another three months (Riku was older than him by half of a year) and prone to bouts of juvenile energy and impulsiveness was less trusted and his mother had encouraged him to stay with Riku after school or play at the school yard with the other boys under the watch of the adults rather than come straight home and run the risk of who knows what mischief.

A short time later they were up in Riku's bedroom. Sora sprawled out on the floor on his elbows and knees with his books and papers, Riku on his bed in a similar state. The brunette chewed on his eraser as he struggled through algebra problems, math not being his strong suit. Riku meanwhile was reading some dry novel he'd eventually have to do a report on. Staring up at it as he held it in front of him while he lay on his back.

“Did you really not know Omega boys have dicks?” Riku said abruptly, breaking the contemplative silence without even looking away from his book.

Sora felt his cheeks grow warm. “Well...it's not like I go around looking at naked people. And I just thought, well, Omegas don't need wieners so why would they have them?”

“Wieners?” Riku asked incredulously with a laugh “You're such a little kid Sora, can't you say dick?” He glanced over at the beat red boy on his floor. “Guess not, you're red as a tomato.”

The boy shot Riku a pouting look “I can, I just don't want to.”

The silver haired boy chuckled on his bed. “Whatever Sora. But anyway, if it were that easy to tell Alphas and Omegas apart then presenting wouldn't be a thing; and companies wouldn't make so much money off selling those home test kits.”

“Do you think we could use one of those and find out?” Sora asked with a glimmer in his eye.

“Did you even listen to Mr. Gulldago? The hormones that show if you're Alpha or Omega don't show up until you present as a teenager. That's when you start being able to smell the pheromones coming off people, and make your own for other people to smell.”

“So how do Betas know what they are? They don't make or smell mones.” The boy asked, turning onto his side to lessen the load on his neck from turning it.

“I was hoping to ask that today, but class ended.” Riku said with a shadow of disappointment.

“Oh.” Sora said flatly, somewhere between disappointed and relived that Riku didn't have all the answers.

Riku sat up on his bed, folding his book down on the bed, so he wouldn't lose his page. “I can tell you're excited about all this stuff, but we've got a few years before any of it matters.” He gave the boy a soft smile. “So can we talk about something else? People are gonna think we're freaks if we talk about sex stuff all the time.”

Sora smile back, the grin Riku was giving him the sign he was teasing. “Okay Riku.”

“Good.” He said, snatching up his book once more.

“Hey, did you hear about that girl that moved in with the mayor? They say she just showed up the night of the meteor shower.”  
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	2. What Changes and What Remains the Same.

Two Keys to the Kingdom of my Heart.

Chapter 2: What Changes and What Remains the Same.

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Sora stood naked in front of the mirror in his bathroom. The air was cloudy with steam from the shower he'd just gotten out of, his body craving a hotter shower lately then it had in youth. The boy had just turned thirteen a few weeks ago, and he beamed with pride at being more “grown up” and having joined his friend Riku in the dizzying heights of being a teenager.

He looked at his reflection in the mirror with a dissatisfied pout. He flexed his arms one after the other, measuring what little muscle they were developing. Doing likewise with his legs, turning them to the side to get a look at his calves. Years of running around the islands and playing had developed them at least, but he was still scrawny in the chest and hips, still too much like a kid in his mind that saw him as something more adult now.

Worst of all, the ultimate source of consternation for the brunette was how stubbornly his gentiles were clinging to childhood. His penis still hung limply over his balls that clung tightly to his body, all still hairless and smooth. His maleness was still a scant two inches, he'd measured, and still showed no sign of forming a knot yet. Sora took his boyhood in his hand and tugged on it, letting it flop limply in his hand with each wiggle of his wrist. “Come on, grow already.” Sadly his sleepy member remained as it was.

A hard knock struck the closed door to the bathroom. “Sora!” His mother said from the other-side. “Hurry up, you'll be late for school!”

“Okay mom!” The boy said a bit too curtly as he let go of his unawakened member. He got dressed as quickly as he dared in his tight uniform pants. His roomy casual red pants purchased specifically to hide how little of a bulge he had and how he was just bound to 'grow into them' but these were cut to his form and made him look flat from neck to knees. He met his mother at the bottom of the stairs, a look of parental concern in her eyes.

“Are you okay Sora?”

“I'm fine.” He said, moving past her to grab a pear off the table for breakfast.

“You've been down lately, and the long showers...”

“I'm fine mom, really.” He said, putting on his best smile to ease her worry. Had he had anyone else's mom, he might have tried to ask her the question every teen asked 'when will I present?' which would usually lead into a comforting story about how the adult had gone through those same fears and what it was like. But Sora didn't have that option, his mom was a Beta, she'd never presented or had to worry about pheromones or any of that stuff.  
She shook her head, her son was such a bad liar, but he was a good boy, so she didn't worry it was anything more than teenage angst. She sighed, deflated. “Riku is waiting outside.” She finally said after a long pause.

That brought a glimmer of hope to the boy's eyes, and he snatched up his bag with a single motion that delivered it over his shoulder. “See you later mom, love you.” He didn't run out the door so much as he bounced out it. His mother chuckled, thanking the stars her son had such a good friend, though she wondered if one day they might end up as more than that. If one was Alpha and the other Omega...well she thought, only time would tell.

The silver haired teen was waiting with one foot cocked behind him and up against a tree, his head laying against the soft bark. His black school uniform had only the slightest hint of a wrinkle in it, as he was perhaps the only boy his age who ironed his clothes. He inclined his eyes to his friend as he bounded off the front step. “About time slowpoke, I was about to leave without you.”

“Oh you were not Riku,” Sora teased back “You'd have gone inside and dragged me behind you to school if you had to.”

“Well someone has been the responsible one, and it isn't you.” He retorted, giving the brunette a jab in the arm with his elbow. The pair started walking side by side, laughing with each other about the small things best friends always share.

As the school loomed over the next hill, Sora spotted the familiar reddish hair and gentle sway that was Kairi. The girl who had appeared from nowhere with no memory of her hometown. The girl who's sweet disposition and general friendless had made everyone like her quickly. The girl who was closer to Sora and Riku then anyone else, his other best friend. He smiled and waived. “Hey! Kairi! Wait up!” He shouted to the girl and picked up the pace to catch up.

As he approached her, she turned and gave a soft, pained smile. “Sora, Riku.” She greeted halfheartedly. Riku hadn't run as Sora had, but had caught up with them by that time. The older boy could sense the change in the air around her.

“What's wrong?” He said flatly.

“Yeah Kairi, you sound like you aren't happy to see us.” Sora continued, putting his arms behind his head.

The girl shook her head. “I am, sorry. I'm just not feeling myself today.”

“Can we do anything?” The brunette volunteered. Again she shook her head.

“Its...personal. Sorry. I just need some time.” She gave another hollow smile and kept walking, leaving Sora standing there with a hurt look on his face.

“Was it something I said?”

Riku put his hand to his chin. “I'd bet my allowance she's presented.”

“Really!? Then why isn't she excited about it?”

“Not everyone takes it that well. It's a lot of hormones and changes all at once. It can be pretty catastrophic.”

Sora put his arms behind his head again in his default carefree pose. “Well I'd be happy about it.”

“That's cause you're a freak.” Riku teased.

“Am not!” Sora lunged at the silver haired boy to put him in a headlock. The older boy slipped out of it before he could tighten his grip and had moved three feet away in a flash leaving Sora stumbling and groping for air for a moment before falling over completely.

“No roughhousing. We'll get our clothes messy.”

Sora pulled himself up, rubbing his sore elbows to ease the pain of landing on them on the packed dirt. “Hey Riku. You never told me when you presented either.”

Riku felt a heat come over his cheeks, and he looked away so Sora wouldn't notice. “Because it hasn't happened yet.”

“Really? But you're older than both me and Kairi.”

Riku scoffed loudly. “I don't want to talk about it. Let's get to class.” And then he stormed off.

“R-Riku?” The other boy said, reaching out his hand. Both of his best friends had stormed off on him in the span of the same ten minutes. It hurt his chest, he felt like it was his fault, with Riku he knew it was, kind of. Kicking at the dust he made he strode slowly to his own class.

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Riku and Sora didn't have any classes together anymore. They'd only been in the same classes as kids due to when the older boy's birthday fell and the rules of the school. Two summer's ago Riku or his parents, Sora was never sure whose idea it was, decided to have the boy take some extra courses during summer and get into the grade level matching his same age peers. Sora recalled hearing Riku's father, a burly, hairy man, chortling at how much better it would be now that there was no worry about his boy presenting while still around a bunch of 'kids'. A fear that had proven unfounded.

Kairi meanwhile, only shared an afternoon math class with Sora. Meaning he would only get a chance to talk with her then.

Of course the great big caveat to this was gym. Every student had to take it and it was only held before lunch, meaning there were only two gym classes. This did mean that Sora saw Riku and Kairi then but with the way the physical education was divided he didn't count that since at most he might see them on the other side of a volleyball net or doing drills while he ran the track. At least he could talk to Riku a bit in the locker room, mindful as he was that talking in locker rooms and bathrooms was something boys 'just didn't do'.

Changing in the high school locker rooms had been something the blue-eyed boy had been dreading. When they were kids, he had no shame about changing in front of Riku or other boys, but his self-conscious body image had grown faster than his body had. What worse was the change in the dynamic. As kids the locker and bathrooms were simple, boys in one and girls in the other. With age and presenting, that dynamic had shifted to be less about what you had between your legs and more on what they did. Alphas and Beta males in one, Omegas and Beta girls in the other. With kids who hadn't presented yet treated like Betas.

Sora had just pulled his shirt over his head as he spoke a soft apology to Riku. “Sorry about earlier...I didn't mean to upset you.”

Behind him the silver haired boy pulled on his gym shirt. “Don't worry about it.” He didn't sound sure. Sora turned his head a bit out of instinct, forgetting that this was another thing that you weren't supposed to do in locker rooms, since people would think you were checking them out; and caught a glimps of red hair at the door.

“Huh?” His head snapped to look and saw Kairi stepping inside the locker room sheepishly. Her hands were clasped together as she shuffled her feet to a free locker. “Kairi!? What are you doing here?” The girl blushed a deeper red and looked away, trying to evade both the question and the unspoken one.

Riku came to here rescue by snapping Sora over the back of the head with his other shirt. “Why do you think?” He hissed.

Sora winched and touched the back of his head. “Huh? I don't.”

“She's an Alpha dummy.”

“R-really?” He beamed, immune to the tension of the room it seemed. “I'm so happy for y-”

“Don't make this a big deal Sora. Please?” Kairi cut him off in a muted voice, moving out of his line of sight to change. Her embarrassment palatable.

“Man you're thick sometimes.” Riku chided and slammed his locker shut with a loud clang and walked off. For the second time that day Sora was left hurt with his foot in his mouth while his best friends stormed off because of him. He cast his eyes down and felt a hitch in his breath as he fought back tears.  
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Sora sat in math class as his teacher, a middle-aged woman with a gut big enough to have its own orbit, droned on about quadratic functions. He looked over to the empty desk that belong to Kairi. Sora bit his lip and decided that he had to make this right. Asking and being granted permisison to use the restroom, the young teenager walked to the Alpha bathroom down the hall. Opening the door as silently as he could he heard the soft sobbing he'd expected. He followed it to the shut stall door at the far end, keeping his footsteps light so as not to spook the occupant.

“Kairi?”

“Sora!?” a girls voice responded from within, sounding wet and choked. “Go away. I want to be alone.”  
“Kairi.” The boy responded, feeling his own throat choking up as well. “I'm sorry about what I said. About how I acted. I'm just...” He drew in breath as he vowed not to screw this up this time. “I'm so happy for you Kairi. You're almost a grown up now. Every day, I worry about when or even I'll present, and as what. Or what if I'm a freak and I don't at all? So hearing that you got through all that; I'm just so happy for you.”

A loud sniff came from the other side of the door. “Happy? Sora, you don't get it. My life is ruined.”

“No it's not Kairi. You're the same as you were yesterday.”

“No! I'm a freak! I've got to use different bathrooms, and locker-rooms. And all my friends are still in the girls room! I'm not a girl anymore.”

“Yes you are Kairi. You're an Alpha girl in the Alpha bathroom. Not a boy in the boy's.”

“B-but there're more guys using this one”

“No buts. A lot of the other guys in school haven't presented yet. Take a look at adult bathrooms sometime, plenty of girls and guys going into both bathrooms.”

“I guess that's true.” There was another sniffle and then the door opened. Kairi's hair was sticking to her tear stained face, and he clutched a wad of damp toilet paper in her right hand. Despite her tears, she smiled “Thank you, you're a wonderful friend Sora.”

Sora beamed a wide smile. “Of course Kairi. I couldn't just sit there while I knew you were upset.” He grabbed her free hand without thinking about it. “You're one of my two best friends after all.”

The touch of Sora's hand on hers, his soft skin touching hers, sent a jolt of electricity through her body. In an instant a warmth and tightness she was only just learning how to deal with made itself known between her legs. “Eeaap!” she squeaked and threw off the friendly hand, twisting her body away and crossing her legs.

“What's wrong?” Sora exclaimed. His eyes drifted to the sudden flurry of motion in her legs and noticed the protrusion in her leggings. “Oh.” He said, feeling his cheeks get hot.

“Don't look!” The red haired girl commanded, quivering with fear and embarrassment. “I told you I'm a freak! This...thing...keeps getting hard and I can't stop it.”

Sora just barely managed to tear his eyes away from the pronounced bulge. With a weary smile he put his arms on the cowering girl's shoulders. “You're not a freak. That happens to all Alphas...it's part of you Kairi. You're you. And all of you is a wonderful person.”

Kairi shook and wouldn't look at Sora for a solid minute, but she didn't try to shake him off. Finally, she relaxed in her stance, but kept her legs crossed. “Sora...don't ever change.”

“Huh?”

She wiped her eyes with the wad of paper. “I'll be okay Sora...I just..this is going to take some getting used to. Thank you for being such a good friend.”

“You don't have to thank me for that.”

“Tell the teacher how sorry I am, and that I'll be in class shortly.”

“Okay Kairi. I will.”

The teens shared a soft smile before the boy departed, leaving her to clean up her face and bit her stubborn erection to go down.

When he opened the door to the classroom, his teacher cut him a dirty look. “So you did come back. You were gone so long I was about to write you up.”

“Mrs. Selele, can I speak with you real quick.” She was about to make some snide comment about how they already were, Sora assumed, so he cut her off. “Privately, please?” He said meekly. That did the trick of getting her attention as Sora was many things but meek was not one of them.

“Class, start on problem fourteen and keep working until I get back.” The rotund woman said with authority as she followed Sora into the hall. “What's this about?”

“I didn't need the bathroom, I went to look for Kairi. She's in the bathroom crying.”

“Oh my;” She said with a look of genuine worry. “I had wondered why she wasn't in class, she alsways such a good student. Is she all right, does she need the nurse?”

Sora shook his head. “No, she's upset because she...well,” his voice dropped low “Presented recently.” The middle-aged woman gave a nod of understanding. “She said she's sorry for missing class, and she'll be joining us when she gets cleaned up.”

“I see.” She said with a look of aged wisdom and put her hand on the boy's shoulder. “You're a good friend to that girl Sora, don't stop.”

“I won't.”  
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	3. Hot and Cold

Two Keys to the Kingdom of my Heart.

Chapter 3: Hot and Cold

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Three months had passed since Kairi presented, and the girl lay half awake in the darkness of her bedroom. Lit only by the pale winter moonlight coming in from the window, the air was only crisp rather then cold, the islands never got very cold. It had been a rough few weeks after she'd presented but she'd come to terms with it. Her daily brushes with death at changing in front of boys had faded away, less important with each passing day. She still kept her distance from Sora and Riku, keeping a row of lockers between them. Somehow being seen in her panties by those two remained a bridge to far, especially with how often a smile smile from the brunette would make heat rush between her legs, forcing her to twist her knees together and stifle her stiffy before it became too obvious. 

The new scents had been another thing all together, it was as if she'd suddenly gotten a whole new sense she'd never known about, like being blind and suddenly being able to see. The strong, heavy scent of other Alphas made the locker room easier to deal with because it felt more familiar and homely now then the smell of cold steel and porcelain of the omega's had ever been. Not to mention the sweet scent the Omega's were giving off now. She'd slowly learned to differentiate the smell of single Omegas and the odd, almost nauseating, mix of pheromones that claimed omegas gave off that was like mixing orange peels with the musky scent of their Alpha. Of course, scenting Omegas had a habit of making her biggest problem rear it's head. The source of her deepest feelings of unfemininity, that thing between her legs. Much like it was doing now. 

It was perplexing, her Alpha clit. All her life it had been a little nub at the top of her slit, not different then any other girl. Most of the time it was still like that, just a bit longer but not so much as to be off putting. Then something would happen; an Omega's scent would catch her nose, Sora would smile at her, she'd see a cute rear shaped by a tight pair of leggings, and sometimes for no apparent reason at all; it would assert itself. Her little nub would heat and twitch, growing inch by inch until she had a noticeable bulge in her panties. A throbbing distraction that left a wet stain where it pressed against the fabric and seemed fill the room with a scent that made other Alphas bristle like a fight might break out. She hated it. She didn't like conflict and knowing she was making everyone around her tense made her want to sink into her shoes and disappear. 

She lay awake in the cool evening air of her bedroom, a throbbing need between her legs denying her sleep. She tossed and turned, stuffing the pillow under her head this way and that, even pressing her hips hard against the mattress to try and will it down to no avail. It was always inconvenient when it got stiff, leaving her to wait uncomfortably for it to tire itself out. She had another way to deal with of course, giving it what it wanted. But doing that always felt wrong, like something a girl shouldn't be doing. 

Grumbling she looked at the bedside clock. It was after one in the morning and she needed sleep more then she needed a sense of purity. “Fine, you win.” She whispered to the darkness and slipped her hand down under the hem of her sleep pants and into her panties that resembled a circus tent at this point. Her fingers daintily touched the pulsing, warm, rod sticking up from above her pseudo-vagina. Her Alpha anatomy was normally a two inch nub but when aroused it was a five-inch monster with a bulb at the bottom that felt huge in her fingers even before it fully swelled. She touched the tip of her rod and shivered at how sensitive it was. The end of her girl's shaft was sticky with pre that clung to her finger as she pulled it away. Pushing her bottoms down in one motion and spreading her legs to give her self access, she got to work. 

Slipping a finger inside her shallow false-cunny she kneaded the small bulges that were her internal testes, one on either side of the divide. They both felt hot and swollen, filled to the brim with her seed. Her other hand wrapped around her narrow shaft and pumped it slowly and rhythmically, the soft flesh sliding easily in her hand and making her moan softly. Her thumb caressed her tip each time her hand reached the top of her shaft, drawing a shiver from the teen. She wasn't that thick, only a little bigger around then her fingers were; but that knot easily got to three inches around when it was full, maybe a bit more as she hadn't felt self-confident enough to try and measure it. 

She'd gradually learned how to do this from a mix of frustrated experimentation and shameful chatter among Alpha's she'd overheard. Boy or girl, it seemed all Alpha's touched their dicks the same way. It wasn't the mechanical action of this that made her feel so guilty, it was the thoughts of the mind. Whenever she did this, her mind always went back to that day in the bathroom when Sora had cheered her up, but it was never how it happened. His tender touch and comforting words were there, but then her mind would twist it.  
“Thank you for being such a good friend.” She'd say to him.

“You don't have to thank me for that.” He'd respond. 

“Tell the teacher how sorry I am, and that I'll be in class shortly.” I have to wait for this thing to go down she'd add silently. 

“Okay Kairi. I will.” But then, instead of walking away, he'd get a funny look in his eye. “Hey Kairi, want me to help with that.” And before the girl could stop him he would get on his knees and have his hands on her bottoms. Yanking down her leggings and panties with one motion, his innocent face would be greeted by her throbbing girl-cock. “It's so big...” His eyes would be huge and watery with desire as he took her in his mouth, his tongue caressing the sensitive flesh as his lips moved softly around it. 

By now Kairi was panting and sweating, her right hand a blur on her throbbing Alpha-clit as her left darter under her shirt to tease her equally stiff nipples. Her hips moved in time with her moving hand as she humped the air. In her mind's eye she could see that soft, charming face slurping down her rod with genuine hunger. Her hands gripped his head, fingers curling the soft strands of hair. Her need was growing faster then his bobbing head could accommodate so she began thrusting into his tight throat, the wet choking sounds he made only spurring her on faster.  
She squeaked out a soft cry that was soundless after an instant as her climax overtook her. Her girl peen sputtered seed out onto her hand and stomach in thick white strands as she clamped her fingers tightly around her base, feeling the knot swell and force her fingers apart the way it would to lock itself inside an Omega.  
“Swallow it.” He mental self said dominantly. And her fantasy Sora did, with the kind of enjoyment he reserved for his favorite foods. His cheeks bulging from the swollen knot as her shaft pulsed in his wet throat. 

Her hands fell away and she panted, her knees giving out as well as they flopped to the bed. Her girl penis was left spent and pulsing, without the heat of a body around it, her knot would deflate slowly as she softened over the next few minutes, but at least the blazing need was gone. As her mind came back to her, the shame hit her like a truck. With a blush that was almost visible in the pitch black room she scrambled for the box of tissues she kept beside her bed to wipe away her spent essence. “What's wrong with me...?” she whispered to herself. Sora was her friend and might not even be an Omega. It was wrong to think of him like that, to use him for her sex fantasies. And yet she couldn't stop. A deep part of her heart hoped it could become real someday, but another part knew that if he presented Alpha as well then she'd be crushed.  
She laid down in the darkness, a few tears of shame and loneliness dropping to her pillow before she fell asleep. 

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Soft morning light shown into Sora's room and fell on his face. Grunting he rolled over to avoid it. It was the weekend and though he'd normally being rushing to get up and enjoy the day he was more interested in trying to get some sleep. His blankets were a tangled mess that he clung to tightly in his arms and rubbed his face into. He's had a rough night, much too warm even though it was winter. Even now in the morning cool he had sweat running down his face and body. He was certain he was sick, because the air around him felt to cool to be the result of his mother having the heater up to high, and he couldn't do without his blankets, feeling naked without them bunched up around him no matter how hot he felt. Not that kicking them off around four in the morning had done anything to alleviate the burning fever coursing through his blood. 

The boy shifted in bed and felt a cool wet spot under his bare back. Grunting he tried to pull away from the sweat stain on his sheets, only to find another under his rear, one that seemed to get bigger as he sat on it. Scowling he thrashed in bed, trying to escape it only to find another wherever he tried to lay. With frustration mounting, he patted the sheets with his hand and found them dry. Confused, he moved his hand to his boxers and found they were the source of the dampness, and warmer to his fingers then they felt to his other flesh. 

“Great...” He grumbled with a voice that sounded like gravel. “I either wet myself, or I've got swamp ass.” He moved his hand around to the front and patted the cloth over his still depressingly small boyhood and found them dry as well. Shifting his hand to his backside once more, he slipped his hand under the waistband to see how bad it was. His plump cheeks were slightly sticky, but not all that wet. Instead, to his growing horror he found the source of the wetness to be between them. His hole was leaking....

“Mooooooooooooom!!!!” 

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Sora shivered in his bed, clutching his blankets to his chest as he lay on his side. A thermometer in his mouth as his mother stood near, brushing his soaking wet hair. When the device beeped, she took it out an examined it. 

“Ninety-seven” she read aloud. “A bit high but not enough to have you like this.” 

“Then what's wrong with me?” The boy whimpered. “Why am I...” he paused, unable to bring himself to say it. “like this.” 

His mother sighed. She was Beta, but she'd been around enough Omega's to recognize a Heat when she saw one. “Well Sora....I'm pretty sure you're presenting. You're in heat baby.” 

“Heat?” The boy had a slight flutter in his lip. “I'm Omega?” 

“I'm pretty sure, but we'll know for sure if a bit.” She cast retrieved the boxed home test she'd picked up when Sora had turned thirteen. Not having the ability to scent him, this was the only way to be certain, even non-beta parents used these on Omegas to be sure it was a heat and not something else. She pooped open the side and handed her son the stick like device not all that different from the pregnancy test she herself had used all those years ago. “You need to pee on this.” 

The teen blushed and hid his face in the blankets. “Do I have to?” 

“Yes son, it's the only way to be sure.” 

“Okay.” He said defeated and took the test in his hand. Getting out of bed he stumbled as soon as his feet hit the floor, prompting his mother to reach out to catch him. “I'm fine.” He said curtly and drug his feet to the bathroom. He didn't feel dizzy so much as he felt lightheaded, like all his blood was elsewhere. As he stood in front of the toilet and dropped his boxers he became aware as to why. 

His legs were flushed red and his inner thighs were wet with the sticky fluid his hole was leaking. Since he'd first noticed it it had only gotten worse, and now was itching and aching in ways that made him want to touch it. Not that he would while his mom was around. Looking down he also saw his penis had stiffened, though it still wasn't any bigger. “Now you decide to stand up?” He criticized himself. In a way, it wasn't all that different from how he imagined Kairi looked when he'd first seen the bulge at her crotch, but his was barely two inches long and only as thick as his finger. Of course it had no knot, and what he was now sure were his pseudo-balls still clung to him tightly. “This is pointless.” He sighed and looked at the test still in his hand. 

One difficult stream of pee on a stick later, Sora stumbled his way back to bed and tunneled under the blankets. Feeling much more secure inside them. From outside his blanket fortress he heard his mother humming and wooing at the test as she waited for it to change colors. Sure enough it turned light blue, Omega.  
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Riku had gotten up early with plans to go with Sora to the island they always played at. He was eager to show his friend the plans he'd drawn up for a raft they were going to build. The outside world was waiting, and his wanderlust was itching. As far back as when they were little kids, him and Sora had talked about leaving the islands and going off on a real adventure, not just kid play stuff. When this summer came he'd be fifteen, more then old enough to lead them on a few week excursion. The only X factor was Kairi, he didn't think it would be right to leave her behind, since she too had showed enthusiasm about seeing other worlds since she herself was from one. But now that she had presented Alpha...Riku was plagued with worry. What if I present Omega and go into heat around her? Was a thought that came to haunt him daily. The silver-haired boy shook his head to clear away the darker thoughts. “Whatever happens, happens. I'll deal with it then.” He said to himself as he left his house. 

He kept a brisk pace over to Sora's place, expected to see the boy already outside, but the house was quiet. “That's strange.” 

“Good morning Riku.” Came a deep voice behind him. 

Riku twisted his head to see Selphie's father approaching from the other direction. He was a soft faced man, with no trace of stubble on his face any time the boy had ever seen him. “Good morning sir.” He followed the man with his eyes as the older male walked up to the door and knocked. “Is something wrong?” 

The man shook his head. “Just something I need to take care of, nothing to concern yourself with.” the man said cryptically. 

The door opened slowly and Sora's mother greeted the man in a hushed but friendly voice. All Riku was able to make out was “he's upstairs? Okay.” from the grown man before he entered. 

“Ma'am? 

“Oh! Hello Riku. I'm sorry, I didn't notice you.” Said his friend's mother, steeping outside and shutting the door behind her. The woman wore a mask of a smile, with barely hidden concern underneath. Riku could read her like a book. 

“What's wrong? Is Sora okay?” 

“Oh Riku, you and Sora have been so close all your lives. I should have expected you'd drop by now.” 

Riku's heart started pounding in his ears, a cold sweat forming at his temple. “Tell me.” He took a few steps closer. “Is he sick? Is it bad?” 

The beta woman shook her head, the shadow of tears at her eyes. “No, no Riku. My baby boy is growing up is all. And it's hard on him, which makes it hard on me.” 

“He presented?” 

“Yes dear, he's going through his first heat. And I can't do anything for him.” 

Unlike Sora, Riku paid attention in class. He knew when an Omega went into heat they craved the comfort and touch of an Alpha. This combined with how overbearing an Omega's scent got during heat almost made it certain that sex was going to happen, and the Omega would welcome it. The boy cut his eyes up to the upstairs window. His heart still hadn't slowed down, and now the hair on the back of he neck was standing up, a burning need in his belly. “What's Slephie's dad doing here?” He left the accusation unspoken, his mind already churning with visions of that grown man taking advantage of the hormone addled boy upstairs. 

Sora's mother saw the look if intensity flash in the boy's green-blue eyes and jumped at how fierce they seemed. “Oh no, no Riku. It's not like that at all. Mr. Tilmitt is an Omega too; he's the only male Omega I know so I asked him to come over and give Sora some advice.” 

Relief washed over the boy like an oncoming tide, all the adrenaline in his veins vanishing and leaving behind a hollow feeling. “Oh, I see.” He looked one more time at the upstairs window. “Well...I guess I won't bother him then.” 

“I'll tell him you dropped by.” 

He shook his head. “No. He might not be ready for me to know he's Omega. I'll pretend I don't know until he tells me.” 

The woman smiled softly as the boy turned. “Riku, you know for a moment there you looked just like an Alpha does when his mate is upset.” 

“You think?” He said disinterestedly as he walked away, not turning back lest she see the blush forming on his face. Once he was out of sight he stopped by a tree and touched his face with his thumb and forefinger at his chin and temple. “Great, now they've both presented before me.” He looked up at the mid-morning sky, the early morning gray still turning blue. “If I'm Omega we'll both have to worry about going into heat around her, and if I'm alpha...” he felt his cheeks get hot as he thought about what Sora's mom had said. Would I get protective around Sora? Would I try and claim him before Kairi could? He shook his head and sunk to a squat, his hands on his knees. 

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“How often will this happen?” Sora asked from his fetal position on his side. Mr. Tilmitt had showned by his bed a short time ago and given him a refresher on Omega biology. As the morning he'd gotten more and more desperate to have something in his arms and was now cuddling with his pillows as well as his bunched up blankets. 

“Every few months. During which you'll crave an Alpha near you. But you have to be careful Sora, in this state neither you nor them might be able to stop yourselves from going all the way, and you're much to young to have a baby.” 

“Then what am I supposed to do?” He moaned, his stomach in knots while feeling empty. 

“You just have to bear with it. Having nesting materials helps, soft things to cuddle up with and a place that feels safe.” 

“I think my stuffed animals are in the attic.” 

“That would be a good start.” 

“But what about...” he bit his lip. “My hole? It itches and it's wet.” 

“That's part of your heat. It's your body getting ready for sex. That's why I said you should avoid being around an Alpha even though you want to.” 

“Isn't there anything I can do to feel better?” 

“Well, you could masturbate.” The adult said with a frankness that shocked the teen and made him blush and hide his face again. “Don't act like a child; it's perfectly natural.” 

“I don't know how.” 

“You what?” The man scoffed. “I know how teens are boy, you talk about sex like it's the newest invention.” 

“I only learned the...way Alpha's do it.” 

“Why?” 

“Because I thought I was gonna be one!” Sora yelled, jumping up in bed on his elbows. The air was thick with the sweet-spicy scent of an Omega in heat, something Selphie's father had noticed as soon as he walked in. Sora couldn't smell himself of course, but the older Omega was giving off a scent that made him feel guarded that he was slowly becoming aware of. 

“Well, live and learn.” 

Sora pouted. “So..how do I...do that?” 

“Did you pay any attention in sex ed?” 

“If you're not going to help then leave me alone.” the boy snapped. 

“Your body is getting ready for an alpha to put his or her penis in your hole. So you mimic that.” 

“How do I do that?” The teen asked with bashful curiosity.

“Well, some people make do with fingers. But I've always preferred toys myself.” 

“Toys?” The boy cast a look over at his own box of toys that he was outgrowing but was loath to be rid of. 

“No, not those.” the man snapped, following the boy's gaze. “I mean sex toys. A dildo.” 

“Oh. And where do I-”

“If you were anyone else I'd tell you to ask your mother. But your mom would faint if you did that.” Luckily for you, I knew that.” He unzipped the messenger bag he had around his shoulder and tossed an object from it on the bed. “I'll tell you mom I gave it to you, but you might want to keep it out of sight anyway.” 

Sora sat up in bed and reached for the object. It was a small cardboard box with transparent plastic allowing view of a light red dildo, five inches long and an inch and a half around with a three-inch knot at the base. “This is huge, this can't go inside me!” 

“That's as small as they come kid. My mate is twice that size.” 

“No way...” the boy said, his eyes fixed on the intimidating toy. 

“I'll leave you to it then.” the man said with a chuckle, a perverse glee in his voice. 

“Wait!” Sora reached out his hand but the adult didn't stop. “Great.” He looked down at the box in his hand. “He'll tell mom what I'm doing with this...so she won't be in for a while.” His cheeks flushed. Opening the box, he slid the toy out into his hands, the soft material like cool jelly on his skin. The more he looked at and turned it over in his hand the hotter he felt between his legs, even his boyhood was throbbing. “I guess... it won't hurt.” 

Still under the covers, he peeled his boxers off his sticky legs and kicked them off. Finding them again would be a matter for later. He reached down and caressed his pseudo-penis down to his sack. The little nubs inside he now knew weren't true testes, but the glands responsible for making ovarian fluid. As a kid he'd called them nuts, but eggs seemed a more accurate term now. His Omega male anatomy gave only the slightest response to his touch, a gentle acknowledgment in the form of a tingle across his skin that traveled down and between his legs. Bending his knees as close to his chest as he could while keep his feet on the bed, he explored lower. His hole was still wet and slightly open to his touch. A touch that drew an involuntary moan from his lips and reflexive twitch of his ring as it tired to open more. “I can do this.” He huffed, needing to hear some motivation just then. 

Going by feeling alone, he guided the soft red toy to his entrance. The spongy material pressing at him for entrance feeling like silk. Still unsure of how something so big would fit inside so small a hole, the boy pressed softly and felt it slip inside with ease. His flower opened for the toy greedily, his inner channel guided it deeper and curving it up slightly toward his womb. Sora grunted and squirmed on the bed as it sank in, it didn't hurt really, but the pressure forcing his ring open was uncomfortable. Yet he couldn't stop, something inside him demanding he push deeper. As the third inch entered him, the head reached a narrow place inside him and pressed hard against a spot that made his vision swim. The brunette let out a long, low moan as a feeling of urgency gripped a place just behind his penis. 

After that, all fear was gone from the boy's heart and he started sliding the toy in and out of him with aplomb. The last usable inch of the toy proved more a bit more difficult to get in as he was already hitting what he assumed was his cervix. But his heat drove him on, eager to get the tip of an Alpha's cock all the way into his womb if at all possible. Each thrust of the toy inside his tight body drew another lustful moan from the boy as the toy ground his prostate over and over. His tongue lolled out of his mouth as he picked up speed, his weight shifting to let him feel himself being driven into the bed more. Later he'd develop some fantasies to go with this feeling, mental stories about faceless alpha's pounding him into the bed, but this first time all he could focus on was how good it felt. This feeling was what his heat filled body had been demanding for hours and he'd had no idea, if he had he would have given it to it earlier he decided. 

The tingling feeling in his groin built with each moment until he reached a plateau. He kept himself there for a few heavenly moments before he became aware that he wanted more. Thicker, bigger. He gave it to his body by shoving the knot inside himself with one motion. Pain and pleasure jolted him out of his delirium, and he cried out in a high-pitched wail. His body took hold of the toy's knot and held it tight, like it would never let go. Meanwhile, something in him broke, and the plateau of pleasure he'd been riding became an electric surge that rippled through him and made very muscle in his body convulse. His boyhood twitched bad had nothing to discharge; all of that reserved for his womb that was filling with a cool sensation Sora felt in his belly which he patted with his other hand. 

He collapsed on the bed; the toy staying lodged in him. He could pull it out, but he didn't want to, knowing full well that a real Alpha would be locked inside him for a while after sex. The brunette clutched his cuddle pillow to his chest and rolled it against him. He felt better then he had in hours, he felt fulfilled and almost satisfied. 

As Sora panted and caught his breath, he had a smile on his face. Being an Omega wasn't so bad he thought. These heats might kill him, but the treatment was fun at least. The feeling wouldn't last, without an Alpha to cuddle him or fill him with semen, his body would go right back to incessant demanding for the rest of his three-day heat. Three days of this, and then one of recovery. At least he'd get the absences excused from school, but he'd return to class as down as Kairi had been. Exhausted from this ordeal that was only just beginning.  


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	4. Where the Sun Sets.

Two Keys to the Kingdom of my Heart.

Chapter 4: Where the Sun Sets.

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Sora emerged from his first heat sore and exhausted. The first day after the oppressive rush of hormones left his body and the haze cleared in his head his psyche came up for air like a drowning man. The previous two days had seen the boy hold up in his room, neither sleeping nor eating much, only attending to his body's insentient cravings. As such the first day after was spent sleeping for sixteen hours and eating everything he could get his hands on. Not helping matters was now that his arousal had subsided he was made acquainted with the soreness that followed how rough he'd been with his body. His hole was raw and sore for several days after his ordeal, and he threw his new toy into the back of his sock drawer with disgust.

  


It was only now that he had time to think. There was no hiding this from Riku and Kairi, and there was no doubt it would change things between them. His face alternated between a deep red and a pale white as he released Kairi would be smelling his pheromones now, and he hers. Oh stars, he thought, would they still be able to be friends? Would she try to claim him? He shuddered. He didn't hate the idea of being with Kairi, but the concept of being bound was frightening. The teenage Omega reflexivity touched the side of his neck, feeling for the tiny scent gland underneath and shuddering at the image of Kairi sinking her teeth into it. And how would Riku react? The boy really wasn't ready to go back to school.

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Sora and Riku walked the dirt path to the school in silence. Sora had tried to fake a smile for his friend, but he just wasn't feeling it. He'd taken an extra long shower that morning to try to wash the scent clinging to him, Riku wouldn't notice it, but anyone they passed might.

Riku kept a contemplative stare on the road in front of them. He'd tried some good-natured teasing when they'd first met that morning, but Sora was having none of it. So far Sora had gone with the excuse of being sick, but they both knew it wouldn't last. The silver haired teen kept sneaking glances over at the other boy, a pain in his chest and a desperate urge to put his arm around him. He hated seeing Sora like this, but he wouldn't make the mistake of forcing Sora to out himself before he was ready.

They spotted Kairi walking up from an adjoining path to join them and both boy's felt their hearts skip in terror. Her red hair shone in the morning sun, her gentle smile and wave acknowledging them as she slowed for them to catch up. In the past few months the girl has warmed back up to them again, her new identity as an Alpha taking a backseat to the friendship they had built during their lives.

When Kairi got close, Sora's nose was immediately assaulted by a spicy-sharp smell that made his face flush and a soft sigh form in his throat. This reaction wasn't lost on Riku who tried to communicate a silent warning to Kairi with just his eyes. Of course, Kairi wasn't as clueless as Sora could be, and it only took one quick sniff for her to detect the sweet-bitter smell of an Omega just out of heat.

“Hi Sora...I hope you're feeling better.” Sora's heart skipped another beat. She knew, he knew she knew. “You missed two days, so you must have been really sick.” The girl deflected.

“Y-yeah.” Sora said, rubbing the back of his head. '”I'm better now though, thanks.”

“I can let you copy my notes from math.”

“Thanks Kairi.”

Riku coughed loudly into his fist, drawing the attention of both of his friends.

“Oh good, so you do know I'm here. I was worried.” Sora and Kairi looked at each other with blushing faces before turning back to their older friend with muttered apologies. “Now if you two can tear yourselves away from each other, class starts soon.” That had the desired effect, and the tension vanished into a mess of giggles. The three separated in good cheer, with Sora having to make a stop at the office to turn in his excuse note.

The principle was a balding man with a deep tan, and he sat in his office with both windows open to enjoy the morning breeze bringing the scent of palm trees and sea-salt with it. Even with this, he was still an Alpha who spent all day in this office, and Sora's nose protested at the musty odor clinging to the fabrics of the office.

“Please have a seat....Sora? I believe it was?”

“Yes sir.” the boy said, sitting down in a chair that smelled too much like a mix of fading scents of too many Alphas and Omegas that had sat in it. The boy decided there was no way the principle couldn't smell this, he had to be leaving it like this on purpose.

“Well, let be officially welcome you to adult-hood. I know the first heat is never easy for any Omega, be they boy or girl, but I can promise you it will get easier with time.”

“Thank you sir.” Sora responded, wanting to ask how an Alpha could possibly know that but finding his courage waning the more breaths he took.

“Or course, we don't hold our student's heats against them. You heat related absences will be excused but you'll be making up the lost time on Saturday school. With additional after school study hall assigned if you heats cause you to miss multiple days during a school week.”

Sora bolted up in the aged chair. “But that not fair!”

The adult shot him a look that made him sink back down in an instant. “What would be unfair, is letting your biology steal your education from you.” He cleared his throat. “I am committed to seeing that every student gets a full education, be they Alpha or Omega. In the old days girls and boys missing school due to heats led to a gap in achievement and general intelligence between them and their Alpha peers.” He continued, standing behind his desk and cutting an imposing figure with his hands behind his back. “Omegas deserve the same opportunists as Alphas, and they will get it so long as I'm in charge. So consider the loss of some of your free time the price of success.”

“Yes...sir.” Sora said mournfully. “Am I good to go to class now?”

“Just one more thing young man; from today forward you'll be using the Omega facilities. It might be a bit of a shock for you, but don't go walking into the Alpha bathrooms like you did before.”

Sora nodded, and walked out of the musty office and down the hall toward his first class. He was in a whole new world now, and was going to take some getting used to. In a way he was starting to understand how Kairi had felt when she'd first presented, but even as unfair as some of this was, he was still him. He smiled to himself in the hallway. Yeah, he was still him, just like Kairi was still Kairi.

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Gym class came with some new shocks for the boy, and he felt his cheeks heat up just like he'd seen happen with Kairi. He gulped hard as he walked into the Omega locker room, the faint smell of over-ripe berries greeting him. He wasn't the only male Omega, but they were vastly outnumbered by the girls, both Omega and pre-presenting, getting changed.

Shirts being pulled over heads left small, blossoming, breasts concealed by thin bra fabric to bounce softly. Sora felt lightheaded at the sight before he snapped his gaze down at the floor. He wouldn't want to be stared at, so he should do the right thing and not stare, but it was so much harder than it had been in the other locker room. Even before he'd presented Sora had learned to love those glorious mounds of chest flesh the girls around him were growing. Yet another reason he'd expect he'd be Alpha, not that Alpha girls didn't have nice breasts themselves. He shook his head rapidly, needing to get such thoughts out of his head before he made a fool of himself.

“Sora?” said a voice to his right.

The boy turned his head to the sound, it was Selphie, her pigtails undone so they could be tied back more securely for gym. “Uh, hi Selphie.”

The girl had presented Omega some weeks before Kairi, and her look of confusion and concern vanished as she inhaled the scent coming off the brunette. She smiled cutely and threw her arms around the stunned boy. “Congrats Sora!” She pulled away just as quickly as she'd lunged forward. “You were so anxious about presenting, must feel like a load off now that you're through it.”

“Uh... I guess so.” He responded, visualizing the anime sweat drop that would be forming over him if reality worked that way.

“Oh don't be like that. Find a locker and get changed.”

Sora looked around nervously. “Yeah, let me just find one...”

“There's a free one right here.” She said, pointing to one beside her.

“Yeah I know...but... Should we really be changing so close to each other?”

“Huh? Why not? We're both Omegas. What's the big deal?”

“Well... I'm a boy and you're a girl...”

“So? We're both Omegas.” She tsked and put her hands on her hips. “This is why they shouldn't put boys with Alphas, you start acting like them.” She motioned for Sora to step closer to the free locker. “It's okay Sora, I'm not going to judge you or get aggressive like Alphas do. That's all hormones and territorialness talking anyway.” She explained dismissively.

“B-but...” Sora stuttered, feeling his feet move of their own accord.

“Besides, my dad's Omega. Not like I've never seen a boy omega in his undies before.” She made a face like she was gagging.

This made Sora grin, and he took his place beside her, and the two started changing while chatting together as the beginning of a tradition that would continue every day before Gym. Mostly they chatted about class and such, but the girl would frequently ask about Kairi, making it clear she missed being able to chat with her before gym just as much as he was missing being around Riku during this time.

Within a few weeks, Sora was completely unfazed by having a girl standing in her undergarments next to him while he was in his. Selphie didn't pay much attention to it either, from the way she acted Sora was just another girl. He caught himself musing that maybe it was because all the things that made him feel like a boy now seemed so out of touch with the world he found himself in. Of course there was no escaping reality forever. As Sora walked out into the gym he locked eyes with Riku, the boy's held each other's gaze for an instant before the silver-haired boy dove under a spiked Volleyball and returned it over the net. Sora sighed, there would be no hiding it anymore.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That afternoon, Sora and Riku stood underneath a palm tree by the school waiting for Kairi.

“Riku... I sort of...” he looked away. “Didn't tell the whole truth about why I was stuck at home all weekend.”

“You weren't sick?” Riku asked, already knowing the answer but hiding that fact.

“Well I was but....” he looked at his shoes.

“Just spit it out.” He growled.

“I was in heat, okay? I presented Omega and I was in heat.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? That's all you have to say?” Sora stomped his feet and glraed at his friend who was staring disinterested into the distance.

“What else should I say? It's not a big deal. You're still you.”

“Riku...” the boy blushed.

“Have you told Kairi?”

“Yeah, before math class...but she already knew.”

“Well she's Alpha, she smelled it on you this morning.” Riku shrugged “That's just how things work.”

“Right...” Sora said sadly. “Hey Riku?” He waited for the boy to look at him. “Do you think...this will change things between us?”

“How should I know?” The older boy shook his head. “We're growing up so of course things will change, but I don't see why we can't stay friends like we've always been.”

“I hope so... I just worry...with me being.... this way.... and Kairi being...”

“Sora, she's not going to pounce and knot you. She's not that kind of girl.”

“I know... I just...”

Riku smacked Sora lightly in the back of the head. “You worry too much dummy. There's no law that says Alphas and Omegas can't be friends, or that you have to mate with the first Alpha who looks at you.”

Sora blushed and rubbed the back of his head, feeling more ashamed than anything. “Yeah, you're right Riku. Sorry.” He smiled at the boy. “You're so much more collected than everyone else Riku, like you're the only one who's got this all figured out.”

“Well it helps having a working brain.” He teased.

“Hey! I have one of those too!” The two boys began play fighting, pushing and wrestling with each other.

“Sora! Riku!” Kairi shouted as she ran down the path toward them. The boys kept wrestling with each other, pulling at shirts until Riku got the brunette in a headlock.

“Ow, ow, okay let go, I give, I give.” Sora yielded. Watching this, Kairi felt her blood heat, and she reached out to push Riku away with both hands. The sudden move caught Riku off guard, and he let go of Sora as he stumbled backward a step.

“He's okay, we were just playing. Don't get so jumpy.” The recoiling boy said calmly.

Kairi withdrew her hands to her chest. “I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me.” She flustered, leaving Sora to pull himself together on his own.

Riku looked at the red-haired Alpha with a hawkish gaze. He knew exactly what had come over her.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“How far will a raft really take us?” Sora asked Riku as the three of them sat on the small island watching the sun set over the water.

“Who knows if we have to, we'll think of something else.” Riku responded from his reclining position on the tree.

Summer had just started and the trio spent their days of freedom playing on the smaller island off the coast from the main one. It was a short trip in their small boats but for what they were planning they needed something more substantial.

“If there are other worlds out there, then why did we end up on this one?”

“I dunno.” Sora answered, flopping back onto the soft sand.

“Exactly, our world is just a small part of something even greater.”

Riku had made the plans for the raft months ago, finishing them on the day Sora had presented. Now the raft was almost done, and they'd be setting off in just a few days. The silver-haired boy smiled, he and his friends were going to leave the islands and see a new world. He looked toward the sun, red against the sea, there were many worlds, but they had the same sky. When it was time for them to go home for the day, Riku motioned for Sora to wait up while Kairi hurried ahead.

“What's up?”

“Sora, when was your last heat?”

The brunette blushed a deep red. “Uh...w-why do you need to know?”

“Because, it would be pretty bad if you went into one while we were on the raft.”

Sora blanched, he had thought of that. His embarrassed flush soon returned as he thought about what Riku was implying. “I...I don't think it would be that bad...if it happened. Kairi's not that kind of girl.”

He shook his head. “I didn't say she was. But, when an Omega goes into heat sex is about all they can think about. And the pheromones they put off make that true for Alpha's as well.” He made a sweeping motion with his hand. “I'm not saying she'd claim you right away, but two days into your heat, with both of you worked up and no privacy to do anything about it?” He shook his head again. “It's just asking for trouble.”

Sora looked at his feet in the sand. "Yeah, I guess you're right.”

“So for all our sakes. Answer the question, if we need to postpone leaving a few days we can.”

The Omega boy dug his toes into the sand bashfully. “I...haven't had once since that first time.”

“So you don't know when the next one will be either?” He said, more a statement then a question, but Sora shook his head anyway. “It's been a few months since then, so you could have one at any time.”

“Sorry Riku, they don't hand out calendars with your heat days circled on them when you present Omega.” Sora snarked.

“Whatever.” Riku blew air out between his lips. “There's no planning around it then, so we'll just have to hope for the best.”

“Sora! Riku! You guys coming?” Shouted Kairi from the beach below.

“Be right there!” Sora answered with a cheerful wave.

Riku had his back to him, so he wouldn't see the silver-haired boy pouting. Unlike Sora, he didn't pout to get his way, preferring to keep his displeasure to himself. He walked off to join Kairi, a bitter growl on the edge of voicing itself. He still hadn't presented, so that was a constant danger as well he needed to keep in mind. Currently, he was juggling the swirl of thoughts in his head, what would he do if Sora went into heat shortly after they left? What if it was a few days out? What if he presented and went into heat? What if he presented Alpha and got into a fight with Kairi because Sora went into heat in front of them?

That last though sent a shiver down the boy's spine. It would be hard enough keeping Kairi and Sora from mating if the latter went into heat, but what if he was the one trying to claim him? Would he do something unforgivable to Kairi? Would they both do something unforgivable to Sora and both try to claim him? He punched a thin tree he was walking past and held his forehead with his other hand. Luckily, Sora had opted to jump down from the bridge to the shore rather than descend the stairs inside the clubhouse leaving Riku to wallow in his misery alone in the darkened room.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sora was hunting for provisions for their trip. He had crouch walked into the cave on the island where they'd played as kids. The walls were covered in wall drawings kids over the years had carved into the rock by scrapping at it with smaller rocks. Plucking some edible mushrooms he caught sight of the drawing of himself and Kairi that they had done of each other so many years ago.

“Kairi...” He whispered and ran his fingers over the etchings. Grabbing a smaller stone he set into the rock and made an addition to the drawing. Soon his etched face had an arm below it offering Kairi a Paupu fruit, the symbol of joining together of two people's destines. He doubted she'd ever see it, and part of him hoped she never would, but something inside him needed to draw it. He wanted to be by her side, forever.

“I've come to see the door to this world.”

The voice came from nowhere, Sora snapped his head around so fast it hurt his neck. “Huh? Who are you? Where did you come from?” The figure was obscured by a brown cloak, his face hidden by shadow. Sora could feel his heart racing, how did this stranger sneak up on him?

“This world has been connected, tied to the darkness. Soon to be completely eclipsed”

“You...you came from another world, didn't you?” Sora felt in his heart this was true. Nothing else made sense, this man felt too unreal. Sora sniffed the air, the man had no scent!? Was he Beta? No way could a full-grown adult have not presented unless he was Beta.

“You do not yet know what lies beyond the door.”

“What are you talking about?”

“There is so very much to learn. You understand so little.”

“Yeah?” Sora said, suppressing a pout and putting on a brave face. "Well, I'm gonna learn what's out there, you'll see.

The man chuckled. “A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing.”

Sora felt a bitter anger rising in him, he cast his eyes to the odd door that had always been in this cave. They had tried as kids for ages to open it, but it had to handle, no lock. His eyes were off the man for less than a second but when they returned to the place he was he had vanished. Sora ran out of the cave as quickly as his legs would carry him, looking all about and brandishing his wooded sword. And yet he found nothing, no sign of the stranger.

“What did he mean? Soon to be eclipsed?” Sora puzzled over the worlds. They sounded like a threat, but what could threaten a world?

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Riku lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling above him. It was still early evening but the sky had gotten dark quickly and a feeling of foreboding hung in the air. He currently had his pants around his ankles, staring down at his boyhood.

He ran his hand over the soft flesh, stroking it to try to make it hard. His four-inches did stiffen, but there was still no sign of a knot. His scrotum hung limply below that, neither big enough nor small enough to give any indication as to whether they contained testes or male ovaries. He slipped his other hand between his legs, no wetness was detected between his cheeks. Just a dry, wrinkled, hole like all Alphas had, with no sign of it opening to receive his probing fingers like and Omega's might. The boy grumbled and withdrew his hands, not longer interested in continuing. He'd been repeating this nightly ritual for months now, desperate to see some sign, any sign, of his presenting. As much as he'd prefer being Alpha, he honestly wouldn't mind being Omega now if it would just hurry up and happen.

He pulled his pants up over his stiff, insultingly small member and rolled over to look out his window. He hadn't discounted the possibility of him being Beta; but he could technically present any time before he was eighteen. That's one of the things that made identifying Beta's so tricky, you could never be sure until they were adults. And thinking, acting, living like he was Beta and then getting a surprise down the line was out of the question. For now, he was just stuck in a childhood that refused to end. His eyes shifted to the sky out his window, a storm was moving in.

He bolted upright in his bed. Something was wrong, this storm felt off...it felt darker, like some force was behind it. An utterly absurd notion he thought instantly, but the raft would be torn to pieces if it wasn't secured. He bolted down the stairs and out of his house, his mother never even looked up from her book.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sora meanwhile was in his own bed, thinking about the three of them setting sail the next day, a sense of doom hovering over him in the dim light. He turned in his bed and looked at the sock drawer where he'd stowed the toy Mr. Tilmitt had given him that had seen him through his first heat. Riku had made a good point, what would he do if he went into heat while out at sea? His mind flashed back to the heady fog he'd been in for those days, how desperately needy he'd been. It was just as Riku had said, if there had been an Alpha there, smelling his scent and getting just as horny as he was...he shuddered. If it happened he didn't think he could stop Kairi, he wouldn't want to. He'd have to hope either she'd be able to hold back or Riku could make her hold back; otherwise he could be pregnant when school started back up.

That was an odd thought to him still, the idea of him getting pregnant. He'd never once thought about it even being an option before he'd presented, but now that he had it still seemed like such an alien concept to him. Sora slipped his hand under his shirt to touch his flat belly, trying to imagine how big and round it would get when he was caring a baby. It seemed surreal. He tried to picture running, jumping and sword fighting with a big belly; it didn't seem possible. Was this what being an Omega was? Not being able to go on adventures like he'd always wanted because of his heats and having babies? He shook his head and slammed his fist into his pillow. “No.” He'd decide when he mated and had a baby, not his hormones. At that a feeling of peace washed over him, a feeling like triumph.  
Awash with hollow victory over a battle not yet fought, the boy looked out his window and saw the storm clouds rolling in.

“A storm? Oh no! The raft!” and out the door he went, unaware that Riku was already on his way as well.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	5. Divided by Two

Two Keys to the Kingdom of my Heart.

Chapter 5: Divided by two.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sora had expected rain when he ran out to the boat and started rowing, but none fell. The wind was wiping the sea into a mist and the sky rumbled with thunder every few moments but the boy never saw even the hint of lightning. As he rounded the cape and came near the dock of the play island he looked up and saw the pulsing orb in the sky.  
  
“What's that!?” He exclaimed as he jumped up onto the wooden pier. Whatever it was it didn't look natural or pleasant. Two other boats were tied to the docks beside his. “Riku's boat? And Kairi's?” They had personalized all their boats a while back, with little etchings in the wood on the inside. “They must have been worried about the raft too.”  
  
Before he could get a good handle on the situation the shadows on the ground danced and stood, forming into the Black bug like creatures with bright yellow eyes. Each one stood half the teen's height and had floppy antenna on their heads. Each one started as a spot of shadow on the ground, no different from any other in the dim light of the evening, only to rise up like paper-craft coming to life.  
  
“What are you?” The only answer he got was for one of the creatures to jump at him. The brunette barely dodge out of the way and felt the things claws rake across his skin. It left only the faintest indention of red claws on his arm but it hurt like he'd been stabbed an inch deep. He shuddered, if a near miss felt like that he didn't want to find out what a direct hit would be like.  
  
“Okay, you asked for it!” Sora had rand and snatched up a discarded wooden play sword. It wouldn't cut but a wooden club was better than nothing. One of the creatures gave chase, the others milling about and touching the sand with their feelers. He swung at the first creature with practiced skill and speed, he'd fought Riku enough to know how to use a weapon. He hit his mark true, there was no way he could miss something right in front of him.  
  
The sword met no resistance, passing through the creature like through smoke. Unfazed by the assault it readied itself to leap again. “What!?” More creatures emerged from the ground around him. Outnumbered and with not way to fight back, Sora did the only thing he could. He ran. His heart was pounding in his ears with adrenaline and fright.  
  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Riku had seen the strange storm before even Sora had and his house was closer to the dock. His feet hit the shore of their playground with the full intention of racing on toward the raft. His stalled when he saw the other boat tied to the dock. “Kairi's boat? What's she doing here?” The mayor's house, Kairi's adopted family, lived near the middle of the main island. It didn't make sense to the teen how she could have beaten him here, unless she'd left before the storm had gotten close to land. Even if she was an Alpha, this kind of pro-activeness was abnormal.  
  
He felt dizzy all of a sudden, what was happening? He stumbled onto the sand and felt something hanging over him. Like a blanket he couldn't touch or see but still knew was there. It hung in the air around his skin and drew his gaze upward. The stormy sky swirled and churned, a pulsing red orb rising out of the ground and into the clouds in a way that he could only describe as a grape being plucked up to be devoured. The orb left no scar on the ground as it emerged, it simply passed up out of the sand like a ghost.  
  
As the black clouds clutched the orb it looked more and more like ants swarming a morsel of food. Around Riku's feet the shadows shifted and swayed before standing up as shapes. Bug like creatures with yellow eyes. They milled about, sniffing at the ground but paid little mind to Riku. He glowered up into the sky, the orb was being pulled slowly up into a gaping abyss. It was a patch of darkness that seemed to swallow all the light around into it's gaping maw. “That's it....” he whispered to the night. “It's a way to another world.”  
  
He ran across the plank bridge to the island where the Pau-pu grew. His heart was calm even though he was excited. Forget the raft, they'd see the outside world this way. The door was open. He smiled up into the sky, knowing Kairi would find him soon and Sora, he would follow like he always did.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Somewhere in Sora's heart he could feel an echo of a memory. These things that were chasing him across the beach, he'd seen them before. In a dream half recalled he could see himself beating off these bugs with a sword until his own shadow attacked him. He shook his head, now was not the time to get lost in dreams. He needed to find a real weapon, or at the very least find Riku and Kairi and escape.  
  
Sora ran past the waterfall, his eyes naturally drawn to the entrance to the secret place where he'd met the stranger that day. “Wait!” He gasped, he understood.  
  
“This world has been connected, tied to the darkness.” The voice like melted chocolate echoed in his mind. Sora cast his eyes up at the swirling shadows above. “Soon to be completely eclipsed.”  
  
Is this what he meant? This darkness would swallow his world? It seemed unbelievable but it was as good an explanation as any, and it certainly seemed to fit the evidence at hand. He raced to the secret place but saw an unfamiliar sight. A shining white door stood between him and the cave. “What? A door?” He didn't know how it got there, but something didn't want him inside. He snatched at the brass handles and pulled. The door didn't budge an inch, seemingly locked from the other side. The boy pounded his fist into his hand. The stranger must have done something to make this happen, and he did it in there, with that strange door they couldn't open. He said he'd come to see the door to this world. “That's it!” if he could get to the door, maybe he could fix this, that's why this door was blocking his way.  
  
He spun on his heals and faced the shadowy monsters clustering around him. “Out of my way!” he swung his sword uselessly at them and leaped over them, hitting the sand hard he rolled to his feet. “Riku! Kairi!” He shouted over the thunder.  
  
He heard no answer, but by chance he turned to look toward the small island where the fabled fruit grew, the fruit that would bond the fates of those who ate it, and saw the yellow of Riku's shirt against the dark horizon. “Riku...” the Omega whispered, feeling his heart leap in his chest. He ran up the stairs of the seaside shack and across the bridge to his friend.  
  
“Riku!”  
  
The older boy turned to look, a soft smile on his face. “The door....has opened.”  
  
“What? What are you talking about?”  
  
“The door has opened Sora!” Riku shouted happily, making a sweeping motion with his arm. “We can go to the outside world now.”  
  
Sora had never seen Riku so deliriously happy, he almost looked drunk. Seeing other worlds had been a dream of all of theirs for years, but it started as Riku's so the younger boy could get why he might be distracted. “Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you.”  
  
“Kairi's coming with us.” The silver haired boy said assuredly and looked up at the pulsing orb being swallowed by the darkness. “We may never see our parent again, but this is our one chance. I'm not afraid of the darkness!”  
  
The darkness must have been listening, because at Riku's boldness a purple cloud gathered around the teen's feet and started to pull him down. “Riku...” Sora said sadly. He had to choose, follow Riku into the sea of shadows, or try to find Kairi. The boy who still hadn't presented reached out his hand to the Omega, silently bidding him to come. The look on his face, the look of confident ownership was one they'd all seen Alpha's give their mates.  
  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Far away, in a world bathed in light that had never known the hardships of despair, a certain court magician and the guard captain were puzzling over the note left by their king. One by one the stars had been going out, a terrible omen, and so his majesty had set forth to find out why and how to stop it. He left instructions to the pair to go forth to other worlds and search for a person. The person with the “key”. This key was somehow the secret to stopping the looming threat that had creeped in silently.  
  
“Gawrsh, what do you think it means?” Uttered the Guard captain, a bipedal dogman.  
  
“It means. We'll just have to trust the king.” Queen Minnie concluded and sent the pair on their way. With them she assigned Jiminy Cricket to chronicle their journey. His world had vanished, one of the stars that had gone out.  
  
“It was awful, we were scattered! And as far as I can tell I'm the only one who made it to this castle.”  
  
Knowledge of other worlds was a closely guarded secret in the worlds, known only to leaders and certain scholars. The order of the worlds depended on most people not trying to leave their worlds or meddling in the affairs of Worlds. Chaos and destruction would follow if this command wasn't kept.  
  
“I get ya, we can't let anyone know where we're from.” the tall dog-man confirmed. His duck compatriot nodded silently. For the sake of their world and their King they would set forth to parts unknown, starting with the haven for the lost, Traverse Town.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Riku had his hand outstretched, the darkness clutching at and crawling up his legs like a living thing. The boy showed no fear, his only look was one of silent confidence at his friend. Come with me it seemed to say.  
  
Sora trudged through the mire of purple shadows like he was wading through sludge. His own hand stretched out to grab Riku's. A little more, they were almost touching. The Omega's face was one of desperation, the touch of the inky shadows on his skin felt like ice, he hated it. Their fingertips touched an instant before slipping away and the darkness closed over them like a rolling tide coming up from underneath.  
  
The shadows enveloped Sora, a solid wall of blackness at all sides met his eyes. The pressure on his chest was unreal, he sucked in aggressively for some air but his chest refused to rise and fill. He was drowning and Riku, who had been so close only a moment before, now felt far way.  
  
Just as he thought he'd reached the end of the line and his mind was starting to dim from the lack of air, a flash of light cut through the opaque darkness and blinded him. With a gasp he broke the surface and sputtered for air. The shadows had taken Riku and left and Sora was left grasping a weapon in his hand. It was like a giant key with a grip like a sword.  
  
“Keyblade”  
  
“Keyblade”  
“Keyblade”  
  
“Key? Blade?” The boy repeated. The silent words in his head echoed distantly like thunder. The Shadow bug emerged from the ground in front of him and the Key in the boy's hand leapt forward on its own, dragging his hand with it. Sora let it pull him, and he brought the key down on the shadow monster. Unlike before this weapon found something solid in the creature and it burst into a flash of smoke. The other's recoiled and slunk low, pulling back into the ground away from the weapon that was able to kill them.  
  
The teen Omega marveled at the blade in his hand a moment, his mind racing with a thousand thoughts and questions. They would have to wait though, as the creatures returned in greater numbers, emboldened they lunged to attack. Biting his lip he swung the key in a low sweep, turning three of the monsters to smoke at once. Down on the sand more were pulling themselves up to advance on the boy who held the key. Sora pursed his lips, he couldn't fight all of them and win, he'd run out of steam before they did. He looked over to the secret place and at the shining door that blocked the entrance. He glanced down at the key again. “Key's open doors right?”  
  
He pounced off the bridge just as a monster lunged at him. Bringing the key down as he fell it impacted one of the bugs and made a clear landing spot for the boy on the sand. Rolling with the impact he dashed across the beach, dispatching bugs that blocked his path as he went without stopping to tangle with them.  
  
Upon getting close to the door he felt the key jump again in his hand. Letting it guide him he rose it to shoulder height and felt a rush of energy fill his body as a line of light shot out from the key and into the door. An audible click issued from it, louder than the thunder. “Yes!” He shouted, grabbing the handles with both hands and throwing them open. Running inside, he let the doors slam behind him, keeping the Shadow bugs from following him inside.  
  
Unseen by Sora, the cloaked stranger from that morning watched from the top of the upper deck where Tidus often played. He cast his gaze toward the pulsing orb in the sky as it flashed and shuddered. He raised his hands as the wind swelled and became a torrent of cross breezes, sand and loose objects flying into the air and spiraling up into the hungry maw of dark clouds. And then the stranger was gone. Vanished like the light of a candle snuffed out.  
  
Sora's footsteps echoed loudly in the cave as his feet carried him deeper in and around the corner. As soon as he reached the open room where the door was he screeched to a halt. Kairi was standing there in the middle of the room, staring at the odd door.  
  
“Kairi!” He reached out to her, and she turned to face him.  
  
“S...ora…” She said slowly, distantly. She had a vacant look in her eyes and a pale glow on her face. The odd door flew open and a wave of dark wind sent the Alpha girl flying toward Sora. He threw out his arms to catch her. On some level Sora would be embarrassed by this later; an Omega welcoming an Alpha into his arms would be seen as a very intimate act.  
  
Whatever he was expecting to happen, this wasn't it. Instead of colliding with his chest and being enveloped in his arms the girl either passed through him like a ghost or vanished before he could grab her. The rushing wind knocked him off his feet and sent him tumbling head over heels back outside. The rushing wind carried the hapless teen careening, and he slammed into a tree. He grabbed a branch as the vortex pulled at his feet, trying to rip him up into the sky. All around him the island was vanishing, the sea was gone, replaced by a void.  
  
“Woah!” The bark under his fingers cracked and shattered, and both him and part of the tree went spinning into the air. He passed into blissful unconsciousness before he passed through the dark passage out of his fading world.  
  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The odd pair were wandering the open shopping district of Traverse Town, the street lights giving off a warm orange light in the night air.  
  
“Where's that key?” the duck man complained aloud. They'd been there less than an hour and he was already getting impatient. His compatriot being a bit slow witted was no comfort either.  
  
“Huh.” The aforementioned dog uttered as something caught his eye. He looked up between the buildings at the open sky and pointed emphatically. “Look! A star's go-en out!” The pair looked up in wonder and horror as one of the bright points of light shimmered and sparkled before vanishing with a twinkle. “We better find the King quick!”  
  
“We need that Key first.” The duck interjected.  
  
“Hey, why don't we find Leon?” Leon was the name of a contact in this town they'd been told to meet up with. A friend of the King's from long ago.  
  
“Ah phooey. What do you know?”  
  
“What do I know, ayuk!” the dog man laughed, much to the duck's annoyance and the pair plodded along. As they passed an empty alley they didn't see the large yellow shoes sticking out from behind a pile of rubbish.  
  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Riku awoke hurting all over. His head was pounding and his knees and elbows were scrapped up. He sucked in air with such force that it made him audibly gasp realizing his lungs had been empty before then. With each breath his headache subsided, telling him it was from going to long without air. The soreness in his body was from laying on a jagged rock that he found himself on, it was damp like the air around him and seemed to have been part of a road at one point.  
  
Standing up slowly he saw more jagged rocks at different elevations, pieces of a stairway that rose here once. Around him was crystal clear water, icy cold, rushing toward the sides of the ravine he was in. At first the boy wondered if he was delusional as the waterfalls were clearly rising upward up the sides of the crystal rock walls. But there was more to it, the air smelled different and the sky looked an orange-blue then he'd ever seen. It looked like late sunset, but he didn't feel like he'd been asleep all day. “This....this is another world.” He said, confirming his own thoughts aloud.  
  
He looked around him at the floating rocks and shallow water in sudden panic. “Sora! Soooooraaaa!” They had been touching fingers only moments before but the teenage Omega was nowhere to be found. He shifted his stance and put a fist to his chin in thought. “Did he not come with me?” He shook his head. “He may have ended up somewhere else.” He cast his eyes up high above the ridge and saw the tattered tower rising over the scarred landscape. “A castle? Hopefully someone lives there and can tell me where I am.” Getting a running start he jumped up to the next floating rock and made the ascent.  
  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Sora rested on the shore of the island, supporting his weight on the sand with his hands back behind himself. The sun was sinking low over the water and a soft breeze carried the scent salt and ozone to his nose. He breathed in deep, happy for the clean smell of it all. Suddenly a new scent joined the smell of the sea, the heady scent of an Alpha that made his stomach sink with fearful anticipation.  
  
“The breeze is nice.” Said a voice behind him, and Kairi came and sat beside the boy on the sand.  
  
“Oh, hey Kairi. Yeah, it's really peaceful.”  
  
“You think it will be like this forever?”  
  
“What do you mean?” He asked, turning to look at the side of her face. The Alpha girl chewed on her lip with a look of apprehension.  
  
“I'm worried Sora, I feel like things are changing and won't ever be the same again.”  
  
“Kairi....” he said with a soft smile. “Is this about us presenting? No matter what, I'll still be your friend.” He reached out to put a hand on her back in a friendly way but stopped short, something in his gut telling him this was too far. Her Alpha scent was strong in his nose and he could feel himself starting to heat up. On no, am I going into Heat? Right now next to her!?  
  
Feeling panic rising in his belly, he scrambled to get up and get some distance between them before she was able to scent his Omega rising and crying out for an Alpha. But her hand shot out and covered his, pinning it to the sand. She turned her face to look at him and when her bangs waved from the motion he could see the hungry look in her eyes. It was too late.  
  
“Kairi?”  
  
“Shhh.” She said, putting a finger on his lips. “Hush, I'll take it from here.” She leaned in and planted a kiss on his lips. As her soft lips captured his she threw an arm around his shoulder and pushed him down onto the damp sand. Sora wasn't sure this is what he wanted, but the feeling of her wet lips on his face was making him more aroused by the second and his will to fight fell in direct proportion. “Sora....”  
  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
“Kairi....” the boy mumbled in his sleep against the cold wall of the back alley. A yellow lab was licking at his face as he stirred awake. His eyes fluttered open just enough to see the snout of the dog in his face. “Huh...what a dream.” The dog took exception to this and jumped, giving the boy a jolt as the whole weight of the dog jostled his form. “What!” The boy jumped to his feet and banged the top of his head on a low overhang. “Ow!” He rubbed his head. “Not a dream.”  
  
His head felt heavy and in pain from more than just banging it, and his dizzy thoughts were plagued with a lingering warmth from what he was no aware had been a naughty dream. He looked up and saw unfamiliar stars shining down on an unfamiliar street. “Where....am I?” Putting his hands on his knees he got on the dog's eye level. “Do you know where we are?”  
  
The dog acted as though he heard something and ran off, leaving Sora behind stunned. “Wait! Come back!” He ran after the dog out of the alley and into an open court yard lit by two streetlamps. Shops and electric signs surrounded him and he marveled at the sheer foreignness of it. “Whoa....I'm in another world!”  
  
Starstruck he wandered the courtyard for a while, hearing snippets of conversation from some people who were mulling about. He was in a place called Traverse Town, a world inhabited by those who had lost their worlds. In between being amazed by this strange new world he remembered that he was supposed to be looking for Riku and Kairi. Of course, thoughts of Kairi reminded him of the dream he'd had and bring a shameful blush to his cheeks, and he'd find something in the town to distract him from those thoughts.  
  
He met a man named Cid who ran a shop and suggested Sora explore the town if he wanted to find his friends. His shop had the dull scent of an alpha past his prime.  
  
“So gramps, is this really another world?”  
  
“Don't call me gramps. And it certainly doesn't look like an island does it now?”  
  
He followed the old man's advice, though a bit sour at how rude he'd been about it, and headed to the darkened second district, vacant at this time of night, to search. The teen had barely entered the area when a man almost bowled him over as he ran in abject fear. While the brunette was reeling from the near impact the man fell to the ground, looking up in mortal terror at something only he could see. Before both of their eyes a shining heart like thing left him and floated away into a swirling darkness to be replaced by an armored figure with the same inky black skin and yellow eyes like the shadow bugs had. It went running off with a shambling stride that looked more like a puppet than a man while the man faded away like fog burned away by the morning sun and several shadow bugs pulled themselves up from the ground all around the world-hoping teen.  
  
“It's the creatures from the island!”  
  
The monsters gathered round him and Sora found himself backed against a wall. “What do I do?”  
  
Answering the fearful call of his heart, the Keyblade shown with light and flashed into his hand. He looked at it in disbelief for an instant, he hadn't been sure if this Key had been real or not. One of the bugs leapt at him and he swung the Key with a wide sweep and banished it to oblivion. “Come on!”  
  
He vaulted over the edge of the road and down onto the lower street and chased after the fleeing armored creature, swiping down shadow bugs as they leapt at him, far fiercer than they had been on the island.  
  
As Sora rand down the lower street, a certain pair was exiting the Hotel on the street above.  
  
“Leeeeeooon!” Called out the dogman.  
  
“Aw phooey; this is hopeless.” complained the duck.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Riku was finishing his accent up the scattered rocks, hoping from one to another. It had been a particularly rough jump to the last rock, and he'd fallen short and had to pull himself up by his hands. With a grunt of excretion he planted his elbows in the wet stone and crawled up onto the biggest of the rocks. This one housed a mostly complete archway with a jagged staircase marking the final way up to the Castle.  
  
“My, my. And what have we here.” Came an elegant, silky voice.  
  
The silver haired boy looked up from his kneel and saw a woman dressed in black robes. She carried a staff with a green headpiece tightly in one hand and either had a horned helmet or naturally had horns. He hoped to his feet, mindful of the edge. “Who are you?” He said, giving the woman a steely look. He was certain she hadn't been there when he'd first made the jump.  
  
She waved her finger at him with. “It's quite rude to ask a name before giving your own. Especially when you so carelessly invade another's home as you have.” She intoned like a lecturing teacher, waving her finger as she spoke.  
  
“Fine.” He said curtly. “I'm Riku.”  
  
“A pleasure to meet you, Riku.” She said, giving a half bow over her free arm. “And I am called Maleficent. Sorceress of the highest order.”  
  
“Glad to have that out of the way.” He gave the castle above a quick glance. “You said this was your home? Where am I?”  
“Indeed it is. This place is called Hollow Bastion. And you, my dear boy, are no longer in the world you are accustomed to.”  
  
“I gathered that. Have you seen either of my friends around here? We left our world at the same time.”  
  
She chuckled into the back of her hand. “I have not, but that is not surprising. The method you used to come here was not an easy one, nor is it one conducive to ferrying all who use it to the same place. At least when they are untrained in the art.”  
  
“You speak a lot to not say much.” He said with a snide shrug.  
  
“And you say little, to be so rude.” The two could hear the venom in each other's words.  
  
Riku was guarded with good cause around this strange woman, but she was his only lead right now. He couldn't smell her, but he'd never met a woman who was more obviously Alpha. Her entire demeanor was one of power that demanded respect, but he wasn't inclined to kow to her like some submissive Omega. “So, can I learn to use that transport method? Learn to go between worlds and find my friends?”  
  
“Perhaps. I am well versed in the art of using the corridors of Darkness. But it will take time to master.”  
  
“I've got time.”  
  
She motioned with her staff toward the stairs and grinned wickedly. “Then come along boy, join me in my castle. We will have a nice meal and you can tell me just what it is you seek.”  
  
“I told you, I lost my f-”  
  
“I do not mean them my child.” She chided. “The paths through the dark do not open for just anyone. A strong desire is what compels them, a deep motivation of the heart.” She tapped her chest. “Something deeper, a true need, is what lead you out of your world.”  
  
Riku said nothing, and only furrowed his brow in anger.  
  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Half an hour had passed, with Sora running about the Second district evaporating Shadow bugs before he retreated back to the First District. He panted from excretion and exhaustion with his hands on his knees. The oddly shaped monster, the one that had appeared after it had taken something from that man, had vanished from sight at the far end of the district, laving the teen to fight his way back through the growing swarm of monsters.  
  
“They'll come at you out of nowhere.”  
  
Sora looked up in the direction of the voice. It belonged to a thin, light brown haired man bearing a straight sword with an odd handle on his shoulder. “Who are you?”  
  
“And they'll keep attacking you, so long as you wield the Keyblade.”  
  
“What are you-”  
  
“But man, why did it have to pick a kid. Now, let's see that Key.” The stranger interrupted. Stepping forward and reaching out his hand.  
  
“What?” Sora exclaimed, tightening his grip on the key and bringing it to the ready. “There's no way you're getting this.”  
  
“Fine.” The man said, bringing his own sword into the ready position. “Have it your way. He made the first move, leaping into the air and landing just in front of Sora, closing the distance between them much faster than the teen had prepared for. With a speed that defied belief he swung the sword that was half the length of his own body as causally and quickly as one would use a butcher's knife.  
  
Sora blocked the first cut but the force behind the impact set him tottering onto his back foot. The man pressed the advantage and laid in with three more swings, all targeted at the key itself, trying to wear down the boy's stamina. “Just give up.” He said calmly as Sora fell backward.  
  
“No way!” Sora shouted and sprang up, swinging the blade wildly. The stranger back-stepped the first few and blocked the rest, but the wild angles kept him on the defensive, needing to block from both sides in no easy pattern. Sora's face was one of determination born of desperation, while the stranger's was one of surprised acknowledgment.  
  
“Not bad kid.” He said before jumping back, creating as much distance between them as had been when they'd first began. “But this ends now.” He held out his hand and a ball of flame appeared in his palm. Like a bullet from a gun it shot forth and slammed into Sora's chest, knocking him off his feet as the searing ball of heat washed over him. The boy collapsed in a heap, the air gone from his lungs before his consciousness followed.  
  
“You're slipping Leon.” Came a cheerful voice and a dark haired girl in green and yellow clothing that left more skin exposed then it covered dropped from a rooftop.  
  
“I went easy on him.” The stranger, Leon, brushed the bangs out of his hair and moved to collect the boy. “Things are worse than we thought, a lot worse.” 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	6. Cross Destines

Two Keys to the Kingdom of my Heart.

Chapter 6: Cross Destines.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In another part of the city, the foreigners from a world of light were still searching in vain. They plodded along a dark alley way by the waterway, behind the storefronts of the second district.  
  
“Gawrsh, there's nobody here. Sure is spooky.” Said the dog.  
  
“Aw phooy, I'm not scared.” The duck replied. As he finished a woman who had been following them tapped him gently on the shoulder. He let out a loud scream and jumped high into the air before coming down with a thud. “What's the big idea!?”  
  
“Excuse me.” she said softly “But the King sent you, yes?”  
  
“You know the King?” inquired the dogman,  
  
“Yes. I'm with Leon.” She continued. The woman was a tall brown haired thin girl dressed in a dress that was a mix of soft pinks and light reds. Her subtle movements sent ripples through the thin fabric like a spring breeze and brought the scent of wildflowers in full bloom to the dim and dingy alley.  
  
“Can you take us to him?” Asked the duck as he pulled himself up onto his webbed feet.  
  
“Of course, this way please.” She said and motioned for them to follow her to a nearby hotel. And they followed, completely trusting in her soft blue eyes.  
  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
  
“Come on lazy bum, wake up.” Spoke a familiar girl's voice.  
  
Sora stirred on the flat hotel bed, slowly pulling himself up into a sitting position. Through his hazy, half open eyes he could see Kairi leaning over him. She was dressed just as she had been the last time he'd seen her and looked over him with concern.  
  
“You okay?” She asked.  
  
“I guess.” The boy said slowly, his mind still catching up. He could tell he must have been knocked for a loop by that guy before, as not only was he having trouble waking up, but he couldn't smell the girl's scent even with her leaning over him like this. Every time they'd sat beside each other on the beach he could always smell the warm, inviting, yet slightly intimidatingly spicy scent of her Alpha. “I'm so glad you're okay Kairi.”  
  
“Kairi? Who are you talking about?” she said in a surprised tone. Then her voice changed, taking on a more mature tone. “I'm the great ninja Yuffie.” At once the fog lifted from the boy's mind and he could see her as she was. Not Kairi, but a dark haired girl dressed in greens and yellows that revealed much more skin than the teen was comfortable having so close to him. “I think you overdid it Squall.” She said, turning her head to address the man leaning by the wall, the same one that had attacked Sora before.  
  
“That's Leon.” He said curtly.  
  
“Hey! You're the guy who attacked me!” Sora shouted, pointing at Leon aggressively.  
  
The man didn't acknowledge the teen's challenge, only responding flatly. “We had to get the Keyblade off you.”  
  
“The heartless have great fear of the Keyblade.” Leon uttered, still leaning against the wall.  
  
“Heartless?” the boy questioned.  
  
“Those creatures that attacked you, remember? They're after your heart because you wield it.” The girl interjected, she plopped herself down on the bed beside Sora. As close as she was, she still wasn't giving off any scent the Omega could detect. “Turns out, it's also how they were tracking you.”  
  
“But it won't work long. Soon they'll start tracking you by your heart directly, and that's when you need to be ready to fight for your life.” Leon continued with the cool confidence only an Alpha male secure in his position can get away with.  
  
Sora pouted on the bed, feeling a bitter anger rising in his belly. “None of this is making any sense! Keyblade? Heartless?” Wait!” He jumped up to his feet, all of his memories coming rushing back to him at once. “What happened to my home? My island? Riku? Kairi?”  
  
“You know... I just don't know.” said Leon.  
  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
  
Dim light shone in through the high windows into the dining hall of the castle. It's dark gray stones seeming to suck the what little light there was away and lending to the cold, dungeon like atmosphere of the castle Riku had felt weighing on him since he'd first passed its front gates.  
  
In front of him was a bitter smelling soup in a crystal bowl with a hung of bread beside it. There was also a large plate of assorted fruits and cheeses placed between him and his dining companion, the witch Maleficent.  
  
“You've hardly eaten anything, please, enjoy. You need your strength is you intend to scour the worlds searching for your friends.” The woman said, sipping from her cup of green tea. Riku had one of his own at his left hand.  
  
“I'm not that hungry.” He said, stirring the soup and getting the aroma of bay leaves.  
  
“Suit yourself boy, but you may regret not eating while you have the chance.”  
  
“Is that a threat?”  
  
“Oh my no.” She chuckled polity. “But my kitchen is not open all day and night. You may find yourself hungry before the next meal is served.” She wiggled her fingers and a strawberry from the center plate became wreathed in a green flame. Before the teen's eyes it lifted into the air and floated toward him, stopping just in front of his face.  
  
“I see.” He said gruffly and took the offered berry out of the air. Popping it into his mouth he could taste the slight singe from her magic on it. The woman smiled wickedly at the gesture of submission from the boy.  
  
“Now then, I'm sure you're aware that there are more worlds than just this one and yours.”  
  
“Of course, I wanted to see other worlds more than anything.”  
  
“Well, then you are most fortunate Had the heartless not come to your world then your dream would have never come true.”  
  
“What does that mean?”  
  
“Simple my boy.” She waved her finger dismissively. “Great walls of light guard the worlds, cutting them off from one another.” She held her hands far apart from each other and brought them together, stopping short of touching. “Though they be far apart or near, no travel between them is possible.”  
  
“And the Heartless, those shadow creatures from the island, they changed that?”  
  
“Indeed. They travel through the darkness, as you yourself did, to reach worlds. There they devour the heart of a world and the walls fall; and then the world fades away.”  
  
Riku stood up in his seat, his utensils clattering against his bowl. “So my world is...gone?”  
  
The witch nodded her head. “But those with strong hearts endure, and find their way to new worlds, as you have.” She gestured for him to sit back down. “And if your friends are as true as you say, then their hearts will have remained as well.” she touched her chest with her palm.  
  
Riku sat back down, staring down into his soup bowl. “I have to find them.”  
  
“I'm certain you will child, you must only have courage to seek them. The heartless obey those with strong hearts, for they cannot eat them. Only a weak and cowardly heart need fear them, and that fear makes them more vulnerable.” She chuckled humorlessly and sipped from her cup. “It's all rather amusing.”  
  
“I don't see how it's funny. They end worlds and steal hearts, and you use these monsters?” He confronted.  
  
“Tsk, tsk.” She said, waving her finger again. “I am no more to blame for the loss of your, or anyone's worlds, then a lion tamer is for the action of wild lions. I command Heartless, true. But I do not command them all, nor can I stop their natural urge to feed on weak hearts.” He rested her chin in her fingers. “It is the way of life. The strong eat the weak.”  
  
“That may be so, but I don't have to like it.”  
  
She shut her eyes as she brought the cup to her lips again. “Then change it.”  
  
“How?” The boy demanded. “Quit being cryptic and tell me what you mean.”  
  
“My boy, I believe that fate guided you here to me. There is a legend spoken of in many worlds. That there will come one, the chosen wielder of the Keyblade. It is he, who can open the secret door to Kigdom Hearts and change the world. One who can reunite the worlds and bring peace; or one that can shatter them and bring ruin.”  
  
“And you think that has something to do with me.” It wasn't a question.  
  
The witch only smiled over the rim of her crystal cup. A silent confirmation.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In another room of the same hotel Sora had woken up in, the Duck and Dog were receiving a similar briefing from the woman they'd met. Aerith was her name, and she was from the same home-world as Leon and Yuffie. She sat on the bed of a room adorned in shades of red just like her dress as she spoke to them.  
  
“When the Heartless came, we lost our world, just as so many have since.”  
  
“Heartless?” The Duck inquired.  
  
“Those without hearts. They gather in the shadows and hunt for hearts to devour. Hearts of people, and hearts of worlds.”  
  
“Do ya know anything more about em?” Asked the dog-knight.  
  
“Our leader, Ansem, was studying the heartless. He compiled a detailed report on them.”  
  
“Gawrsh, can we see it?”  
  
She shook her head sadly. “The pages were scattered, lost to many worlds.”  
  
“Ayuck! I betcha the King went to find them!”  
  
“Perhaps. Knowing more about the Heartless might help use stop them.”  
  
“Then we should go look for em too!” the dog said cheerily.  
  
“Wait!” interjected the duck “First we need that key.”  
  
The pair had no idea that the key they were looking for, was just on the other side of the wall behind them.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
  
“But why me?” Sora said pleadingly. “Why do I have to get chased around by monsters?” He sunk in the bed dejectedly. “I'm just a normal teenager.” The boy continued, waving one hand away from his body in a sweeping motion. As he did so, the Keyblade vanished from its resting place by Leon in a flash of light and materialized in his hand, already in a grip ready for battle. “Woah!”  
  
“The Keyblade chooses its wielder.” Yuffie said with a chuckle from a few feet away. “And it chose you.” She pointed to the boy where he still sat on the bed.  
  
Sora held the key in front of himself and looked at it intently. “So, this is the key.” Leon had explained that the Heartless feared the Keyblade because it was the only weapon that could kill them, and the only way to stop them for good.  
  
“I don't know why it picked you either kid.” Leon said, flipping his hair back with his hand. “But it did. And now you're the only one we can count on.”  
  
“But...” he bit his lip. “I need to find my friends. I know they made it off the islands, I just know it.”  
  
“No one's saying you can't.” The man said. “But the Heartless don't care what you want. As long as you live they'll keep chasing you, so you might as well take the fight to them.” He shrugged “I haven't seen anyone like you described in this world, so...” he trailed off, bringing his hand to his chin. “Your best bet would be to search on other worlds, and while you're at it, you can help us out.”  
  
“How would I do that?”  
  
“If we knew more about the Heartless, we'd have a fighting chance. If you run across any information, especially the lost pages of the Ansem report, that would help us a lot.”  
  
“That's it? Find some report for you?”  
  
Leon shook his head. “Maybe, I don't know. The Keyblade has a mind of its own, it just might lead you to a better solution if you follow it.”  
  
The boy looked at the Key in his hand again, trying to read its mood, skeptical of just how mindful it actually was. “By myself?”  
  
“No.” Leon said quickly. “We ran in to two others who are on the same mis-”  
  
“Leon!” Yuffie suddenly screamed and pointed at the door. A spiraling ball of shadow appeared on the wall and the Solder like Heartless from before jumped out into the room, bearing its hook-like feet menacingly.  
  
“Damn! Less time than I thought!” Leon growled and held out his hand. A flash of fire shot out and engulfed the Heartless, an explosion of flame sending a wave of heat through the room that brought beads of sweat to Sora's face. While the fire was turning to smoke several more creatures emerged from the portal in the wall. “Sora! This way!” He shouted and ran out the door toward the balcony.  
  
For an instant, Sora was frozen in his spot. But one flash of bared teeth from Leon and the growl in his voice when he gave the command made the Omega's heart skip a beat and his face pale even in the face of the fading heat from the fireball. He chased the man out into the alley, competing instincts at work in his mind. One was fear, both of the Heartless and of the aggression being shown by the Alpha. The other was a curious emotion only known by Omegas and younger Alphas...the need to obey the dominant Alpha.  
  
Outside, the teen watched Leon cut down another solder with his over-sized gunblade. “Don't bother with small fry! Find the one commanding them and take it down!” He barked, running off in one direction. That tone of voice, that command, again made the Omega felt the urge to swoon.  
  
Sora held his Keyblade tight in his hand and charged forward, driving the end into a solder of his own, the creature vanished in a puff of smoke. “Yes sir!” He called out over his shoulder to the retreating figure of Leon as he started cutting his way though in the opposite direction. Doing as Leon ordered, Sora felt a rush in his blood like when he binged on sugar.  
  
In the hustle and confusion, the pair who served the King had gotten left behind in the hotel, tossed aside when the door had been flung open to issue the warning of the Heartless attacking. In the instant of doing this, she flattened the mage against the wall. The pair departed the hotel on their own some time after the others were long gone.  
  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  


Riku took the hunk of bread in his hand and bit out a large bite of it. “So, I find this Keyblade for you, then what?”  
  
“The Key is needed to open the door, but in order to find the door we need the powers of the seven princess of Heart.” She lifted her eyes and drew a heart with her finger, leaving a trail of green fire in the air. “Seven maidens of pure light who will light the way to Kigdom Hearts.”  
  
“What's in it for you?”  
  
“With the Key, you can open the door to Kigdom Hearts, the source of all wisdom and power.” She again touched her chest, seeming to bow in her seat. “That is all I seek, the knowledge necessary to use my power to it's best effect. To bring the worlds into harmony and connect them.”  
  
“And rule over them you mean.”  
  
The witch snickered, not even attempting to lie. “For a time perhaps, but with all wisdom in the universe at my disposal, how could I be anything but a benevolent overlord?”  
  
“Why don't I believe that?” The silver haired boy asked with a raised eyebrow of suspicion.  
  
“Believe what you like.” She chided, wagging her finger at him. “But if you do this for me then I will grant you whatever you desire most. Nothing will be beyond me then, and few things are now.” As she finished speaking the loud screech of a bird pierced the damp air and a pure black Crow came and landed on the tip of the woman's staff. “Oh, excuse me.” She said to the teen and inclined her ear to the bird. By some magic it conveyed something to her and then flew away.  
  
Maleficent smiled and set her cup down. Wiping her lips with a napkin she rose from the table. “Some guest have arrived for a meeting I've called. You are invited to join.”

  
“Encouraged you mean.” Riku bit back.  
  
“Strongly.”  
  
Riku saw not gain in defying her, and rose from the table, his meal half finished, but he'd eaten all he dared to. The witch walked ahead, letting Riku follow half a step behind. They didn't look at each other as they walked.  
  
“If I help you, you'll help me find my friends?”  
  
“If that is what you wish my boy.” She said glibly. “But I do wonder, to be so concerned with them...surely you fancy one of them?”  
  
“What?” Riku stopped dead in his tracks. “That's not it at all.” He swept his arm in front of him.  
“There's can't be anything like that between us.”  
  
“Oh? And why not?” She asked snidely, also stopping, so he wouldn't try to dodge the question.  
  
“I...” her question pierced him, realizing he'd said too much. “Because...” He sighed and clenched his fist. “Because I still haven't presented. Until I know what I am...I can't even think about their being anything between us.”  
  
“Know what you are?” she parroted “Oh my dear boy, isn't it obvious?” She chuckled. “You're Beta.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sora cut his way through the fleeting shadows out into the heart of the second district. He'd seen Leon heading toward the first district which meant he should head to the third. The quickest way to that district was through a narrow road between the buildings.  
  
Racing down it several Heartless oozed into existence in front of him. He skidded to a halt, his shoes squeaking from the friction. “Out of the way!” He shouted, swinging the Key at them, but they stayed just out of reach. Outnumbered five to one he turned to find another route only to watch another three emerge behind him. “Cut off.” He muttered. Eyeing his options he spotted a stack of discarded crates. “Perfect!” When the Solders lunged at him he dodged to one side and vaulted over the barrels, jumping and planting one hand on the top of them as he sailed over. The boxes proved less sturdy than they first appeared, and toppled over after the boy. He fell onto the hard ground and felt the sting of a scrap to the knee. His hissed in air and got up, swinging his key at the Heartless already lunging at him. It exploded into smoke and gave Sora the cover he needed to scramble to his feet and dash through the gate to the third district.  
  
Sliding down the ramp he entered the open square of the third district, the fountain lit up and dazzling to his eyes. He kept the key at the ready as he looked around, wondering if the leader was here. He got his answer when the whole area shook violently. Sora's feet lost purchase, and he fell on his backside. “Woah!” Pillars of stone, topped with bits of street rose up around him, sealing off the square from every way into or out of it. He was trapped.  
  
Higher up, on a balcony overlooking the third district, the duck mage and guard dog were cornered by Heartless on both sides as they stood back to back.

  
“Gee, are these the Heartless guys?” Asked the dog, holding up his small shield defensively.  
  
“I'll show em!” boasted the duck, drawing his staff and calling forth a fireball, neglecting to consider the tightness of where he was fighting. The fireball burst with an explosion of heat that sent the pair flying into the air.  
  
Sora glared up at the pillars blocking his escape, Solder type Heartless were multiplying on the tops of each of them. They seemed to be waiting for the odds to be completely in their favor before committing to battle below. An explosion sounded from above him and the boy turned just to see a pair of figures falling toward him. They pair collided with the teen and knocked him to the ground and the three were in a heap. Sora was pinned to the ground by the two heavy bodies, his arm outstretched and clutching the keyblade. The pair, regathering their wits, saw the key and exclaimed in unison:  
  
“The Key!”  
  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  


“I'm not a Beta.” Riku hissed.  
  
“Why are you so resistant to the idea? Are Betas freaks on your world?”  
  
He shook his head “Not really, but yeah, sort of. Alphas impregnate and Omegas have babies, Betas are just...neither.” He said sadly.  
  
“Beta males impregnate and females get pregnant;" She corrected "...but you're thinking far too narrowly if you are only thinking about what relationships make children.”  
  
“What are you saying?”  
  
The woman chuckled. “A Beta boy like yourself can't get pregnant; but an Alpha could still have fun with you. You can't knot an Omega but you can get them pregnant.” She made a gesture with her arm that sent her cowl billowing up in front of the teen. “I see no reason why you couldn't pursue both of these friends of yours, and any Alpha, Omega, or Beta you fancy as well.”  
  
“Wouldn't that be wrong? Isn't having ….relationships, with lots of people a bad thing?” He wouldn't say it, but they both knew what they were implying.  
  
The witch chided the boy. “Good and bad are determined by the strong my boy; gain strength and you can do as you please.”  
  
Riku frowned at that, it didn't sound like good advice to his ears at all. “You don't know for sure I'm Beta. I just haven't presented and there's still a few years left where I still could.”  
  
Maleficent turned her gaze away from the boy and tilted her head back in a deep laugh. “Oh my dear child, are all so naive on your world?” She cut her gaze back to him. “Betas presented much more subtly than Alphas and Omegas and you...” she looked him up and down. “Presented a few years ago by my estimate.”  
  
Riku furrowed his brow and growled. “You're lying! Betas don't present ever!”  
  
“Believe what you want boy, but I've been to enough worlds and seen enough people to know a Beta when I see one.” She began walking again, trusting the boy to follow.  
  
Riku looked down at his body. Was she just messing with him? Or was it possible she was right? Omegas had first heats and Alphas presented by starting to scent and getting boned up; did Betas really have something too? Something subtle? He hurried to catch up with the witch. “Wait! What does Beta presenting look like? How will I know you're telling the truth?”  
  
“My word isn't good enough?” She said, faking a hurt tone. “I'm disinclined to give you the talk boy, but I have books on the subject in the library. Feel free to browse them at your leisure.”  
  
Riku made a note to do just that. He wasn't sure if he believed her assertions, but if she was right, then he....no, he shook those thoughts out of his head. If he was Beta then he should do the right thing and reunite Sora and Kairi; those two were meant for each other in more ways than one. He hurried to catch up to her.  
  
When they reached the room set aside for the meeting, she held her staff across the path to stop him from entering fully. “You may watch and listen, but I don't want the others to know about you just yet.”  
  
The teen nodded his head, he'd assumed he wasn't going to be included in their plans right off.  
  
Around the table a strange assortment of characters gathered in the shadows, the only light coming from the Witch's green magic she cast on the table to show scenes of worlds far off. Riku lurked in the doorway and watched as they discussed keyholes. One was a fat woman who walked about on more limbs than a woman should have, another was a figure who seemed to be made of sack cloth. The third was a blue figure with flames for hair, while the fourth was a man in flamboyant attire, with an over-sized hat. The last was a tall man with a snake staff, off all of them he looked the most normal to Riku even if he was also a wizard or sorcerer of some kind.  
  
“Is this really what people from other worlds are like?” he asked himself in a whisper.  
  
He watched quietly as they made plans concerning the worlds they hailed from, but Riku's eyes were particularly drawn to the table when he began to show images of a town under siege by the Heartless.

  
  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
There was no time for introductions for the trio that had been literally been thrown together as the Heartless had decided now was the time to charge. The three clambered to their feet and fought back against the wave of advancing darkness, keeping their backs to each other, so they wouldn't be surrounded.  
  
Sora swung the Keyblade this way and that; the dog-knight charged with his shield; the duck mage cast fire-bolts with practiced skill and the Heartless fell one by one without laying a claw on the trio.  
  
“That all you got!” Called out Sora, waving the Key above his head. The remaining Heartless stopped where they were, shifting from one foot to the other in a bouncing way. Then, all at once they began folding in on themselves and vanishing into the darkness whence they came.  
  
Sora grinned and put the Keyblade up over his shoulders. “Guess we won.”  
  
“And stay gone!” Exclaimed the duck.  
  
“Hate to ruin the mood fellers, but look!” the dog shouted and pointed at the sky. Three pairs of eyes tracked the pointing finger to and object descending from the sky. It was like the chest piece to a suit of armor, and as it came in for a landing it sprouted legs, arms, and a head. Looking like a suit of armor on puppet strings, the body parts moved independently of each other in a wholly inhuman way. The center torso piece was emblazoned with the same emblem the Solder type Hearltess had sported, clearly the leader.  
  
The trio drew back their weapons, ready for battle. Sora charged in first, delivering a hard blow that glanced off the torso armor and knocked him backwards. “Huh?” he exclaimed as he staggered backward, this Heartless was tougher then the others.  
  
“Look out!” Shouted the dogman and Sora leapt back and way from an incoming punch. He left arm of the Armor slammed into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust before it drew back to its place beside the Armor.  
  
“This calls for some magic.” The duck boasted while making a motion like rolling up his sleeves. He had no sleeves, but his feathers ruffled in response to the motion. He thrust out his staff and shouted “Fire!” but nothing happened. He thrust again, harder. “Fire! Fire!” He waved his staff violently. “I'm out of manna.” he concluded sadly.  
  
“Hang on Donald! I've got an elixir a-hyuk!” Called out the dog, digging a class bottle out of his pack and waving it in the air. He took one step before one of the Armor's arms came flying toward him and snatched him up in it's claws, rocketing off and into the air. “YAAAAAAA-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOOOEEEYYYY!!!” He hollered and the bottle fell from his grasp.  
  
“I got it!” Sora called out as he ran toward the falling bottle, catching the bottle in his hands he handed it off to the duck.  
  
“Thanks.” He said, downing the bottle in one gulp and tossing it aside. “Fire!” He shouted and a gout of flame went sailing through the air and collided with the arm spinning though the air with its unwilling passenger. The flame struck the arm ad the base of it's elbow and it burst into purples smoke, letting the dog loose to fall headlong into the fountain. “Goofy!” The bird shouted with concern, his worry faded quickly when the dog broke the surface and started spouting a mouthful of water.  
  
Sora meanwhile got an idea from watching how easily the arm had been destroyed. “It's only the body that's tough!” He pounded his fist into his palm. “Guys, let's take out the legs and other arm first!” And he charged forward again.  
  
The armor lifted one foot to stomp the wielder of the key, only to catch a fireball to the arch that put it off balance. A swift strike with the Keyblade to the heel and it too became purple mist. The brunette pumped his fist, expecting the lopsided monster to topple over. Instead, the floating torso spun rapidly and sent out a shock wave that hurled the boy back a few feet.  
  
Skidding to a halt on his shoes, the boy was starting to wonder how his soles had any traction left. “That was cheap!” he taunted the uncaring monster. The dog-knight closed in and delivered the final blow to the last foot with his shield while the duck lined up another fireball. By the time Sora charged again only the torso of the Armor was left floating. Sora jumped as high as his legs would propel him and brought his key down hard at the center of it's mass. The Armor shuddered and began to dissolve into smoke. Before it did, a shining heart the size of watermelon came floating out of the hollow part of it's head. As it's body faded away into light the heart drifted up into the sky and vanished from sight.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Those gathered around the table watched with startled amazement as the massive Guard Armor fell before the teenager; all that was transpiring in Traverse Town projected onto the table with a green hue. Riku couldn't see well enough to make out who the youth in the image was, but they didn't look much older than himself.  
  
“I can't believe that little squirt took out that Heartless.” Exclaimed the blue-flame man.  
  
“The boy's power is not his own. The Keyblade gives him that strength.” Clarified the Wizard looking man.  
  
“Keyblade?” Riku hissed from his place in the doorway. If this boy was the destined wielder then the Witch would have no use for him; and Riku wouldn't have anything to trade for help in finding Sora and Kairi.  
  
“Why don't we turn him into a Heartless? That would solve it.” Said the many legged woman.  
  
“Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them.” Add the one in the over-sized hat.  
  
“You're no prize yourself! Ha-ha!” Joked the sackcloth being.  
  
“Shut up!” the victim of the insult countered.  
  
Maleficent tapped the bottom of her staff sharply on the ground. “Enough!” She swirled her fingers through the green smoke as all eyes turned to her. “Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow him? Either way he could prove quite useful to us.” And they began to adjust their plans around this new potential player in the game of worlds.  
  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
  
With the head honcho Heartless dispatched the lesser monsters retreated back into the shadows. The pillars of raised asphalt sank back into the ground and Sora's gaze met that of Leon's who was waiting just on the other side of one of the pillars.  
  
“Sora, you did it.” His tone was one of subtle praise and the boy felt a warmth come over him as his cheeks turned pink.  
  
“It was nothing.” He said grinning, putting his arms behind his head. “I couldn't have done it without these guys.” He gestured toward the two odd fellows he'd just fought beside. “Uh, who are you guys anyway.”  
  
“A-hyuk.” The dog laughed and waved. “Name's Goofy.”  
  
“And I'm Donald Duck” Quacked the duck.  
  
“And I'm Sora.” the teen said, pointing at himself with his thumb.  
  
“Nice to meet ya Sora.” Goofy said cheerfully. “The King told us to find the Key, and I reckon that's you.”  
  
“The Key? Me?” Sora asked in confusion, only for the Keyblade to appear in his hand once more. “Oh, you mean this.”  
  
The pair nodded their heads emphatically. “You should come with us, w can go to other worlds in our vessel.” Goofy continued.  
  
“Yeah, you're supposed to help us find the King!” Donald interjected.  
  
“But...” the boy looked at the expectant faces of the pair. “I need to find my friends.”  
  
“Sora.” Leon spoke, prompting Sora to turn his head instantly. “Go with them. If you want to find your friends you need to look on other worlds anyway.”  
  
Sora couldn't deny the wisdom of what Leon was saying even if his Omega would let him. He turned back to the odd pair. “Okay, I'll go with you guys.” He cut one look back towards Leon for affirmation. When he got it, he felt another flush of heat on his face.  
  
Soon the trio would depart the town to Worlds unknown on the Gummy ship, their adventure just beginning.  
  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  


Those gathered departed back to their own worlds, most by magic but one by a ship. Maleficent strolled confidently across the now empty room to the shadow covered doorway where Riku waited.  
  
“I trust you found out meeting enlightening?”  
  
“Yeah, you could say that.” The boy said curtly. “So this other kid is the Keyblade wielder? Guess you don't need me after-all.”  
  
“Not necessarily.” she mused. “Though only the true wielder can bring out it's true power; there is nothing preventing another from using it for a season.”  
  
“So what? I'm your plan B now?” He said snidely pulling back his arms by his sides.  
  
“My dear boy your mistrust wounds me.” The woman put on another look of fake hurt. “The talent and drive I sense in you is real. And even if you are not the legend, though I still suspect you are, if you aid me then I will still aid you.”  
  
“Fine. Tell me how I can help then.”  
  
“All in good time.” She lectured. “There is much I have to teach you before you go gallivanting off to the Worlds. And I am a busy woman.” She brushed the back of her fingers against the boy's right cheek. “Of course you could always aid me in other ways.” her voice dripped with implication.  
  
Riku sneered and shoved her hand away from him. “Not interested!”  
  
She drew her hand back like it had been bitten. “Suit yourself.” She moved past him, her long robes draping across his shoes. “I have matters to attend to. The library and training hall are at your disposal, as it the bedroom I've set aside for you in the west tower.” Her staff clacked against the stones as she walked down the hall away from the teen.  
  
Riku shivered in revulsion. For that woman to suggest such a thing to him, a teenager, was beyond inappropriate. How old was she anyway, a thousand? He chuckled at that thought, breaking the tension he'd been building up for himself. He shook his head, she seemed to have no interest in forcing the issue at least. Not that he had any idea what an Alpha girl could even do with a Beta male; he didn't have a cloaca after all.  
  
Riku made his way to the library to read up on the claims she'd made prior. If he did prove to be Beta, what would that change? He'd had a minor crush on Kairi some time ago, and then Sora's mom seemed to think Riku would make a good mate for Sora. But if he were Beta, then he wasn't a good match for either of them. A Beta could get an Omega pregnant, but they craved a knot, something he couldn't provide. He'd never be able to give an Alpha what she wanted either. He sighed and started walking. There would be time to figure out that stuff later, after he found his friends again; and if this punk running around with the Keyblade got in his way....he'd crush him.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


End file.
